175751 AB James McCullough James McCullough was born in Belfast on 29 March 1877, the eldest son of Thomas McCullough a Labourer and Eliza Nelson a Mill Worker, they would have two more children, Thomas on 04 September 1880 and John in 1882. Thomas would eventually follow James into the Navy.

Giving his previous occupation as a Riverboy, on 08 September 1893 at the age of 16½, James joined the Royal Navy as a Boy Second Class at the boys training school ship HMS Caledonia moored at Queensferry in the Firth of Forth. He finished his Boy Service Training aged 18 in March 1895 and was then rated as Ordinary Seaman.

In October 1897, he was made up to Able Bodied Seaman, he was Acting Leading Seaman from February 1904 to February 1905 whilst at HMS Excellent, and reverted to AB on posting.

In 1896 his younger brother Thomas joined the Royal Navy at Devonport in February 1896 and back in Belfast their mother Eliza died in June 1896.

As we might expect, during his Naval career he was on the strength of 20+ warships and Naval Shore Establishments. In his time he served on the Flagship of the Channel Fleet and second Flagship of the Mediterranean Fleet. He was on the China Station and visited Chefoo (now Yantai), one of the less well known Treaty Ports on the northeast coast of China, looking across to what is now North Korea. He visited Shanghai in November 1902 and his ship represented the UK at the fleet review for the Japanese Emperor Meiji at Kobe in April 1903.

In April 1907, James was on leave in Belfast and on 05 April 1907 he married Annie Cave at St John’s Church of Ireland. James was 31, a Bachelor, described as ‘In Royal Navy’, his address was given as 6 Wauchope Street, Belfast, his father Thomas McCullough, a Heckler. Annie was 27, a spinster, no profession recorded, her address 4 Wauchope Street, Belfast, her father Henry Cave, (Deceased), Traveller.

On Sunday 02 April 1911 at Portsmouth, James was recorded in the 1911 Census as being one of the crew of HMS Hazard – a torpedo gunboat converted in 1901 to be the world’s first submarine depot ship. His last posting was to HMS Princess Irene. Originally built by Denny’s of Dumbarton for the Canadian Pacific Railway, the 5,394 GRT Liner was requisitioned by the Royal Navy on completion and converted to an auxiliary Minelayer.

At 11.14 on the morning of the 27 May 1915, whilst moored at Saltpan Reach in the Medway Estuary near Sheerness, HMS Princess Irene was completely destroyed by a catastrophic internal explosion. There were 352 casualties, 273 naval personnel and 76 dockyard workers, very few bodies were recovered. James was 38 when he died.

Initially, there were various rumours of sabotage, but a Court of Inquiry concluded held that priming of the mines was being carried out hurriedly and by untrained personnel. A faulty primer was blamed for the explosion.

James was survived by his widow Annie who received a small pension from the Navy after his death, they had no children.

Annie died on 31 March 1945 and was buried at Plot I1 78 Belfast City Cemetery with her mother and sister.