Editing James Callaghan (section)

===War service===
In 1940, following the outbreak of the [[Second World War]], Callaghan applied to join the Royal Navy, but was initially turned down on the basis that a trade union official was deemed to be a [[reserved occupation]]. He was finally allowed to join the [[Royal Navy Volunteer Reserve]] as an Ordinary Seaman in 1942. While he trained for his promotion, his medical examination revealed that he was suffering from [[tuberculosis]], so he was admitted to the [[Royal Naval Hospital Haslar]] in [[Gosport]] near Portsmouth. After he recovered, he was discharged and assigned to duties with the [[British Admiralty|Admiralty]] in [[Whitehall]]. He was assigned to the Japanese section, and wrote a service manual for the Royal Navy ''The Enemy: Japan''. He then served in the [[East Indies Fleet]] on board the [[escort carrier]] [[HMS Activity (D94)|HMS ''Activity'']], and was promoted to the rank of [[sub-lieutenant]] in April 1944.{{sfn|Conroy|2006|pp=9–11}}<ref>{{cite web |author=J.N. Houterman |url=http://www.unithistories.com/officers/RNVR_officersC.html |title=Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve (RNVR) Officers 1939–1945 |publisher=Unithistories.com |access-date=30 April 2010 |archive-date=26 December 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171226213626/http://www.unithistories.com/officers/RNVR_officersC.html |url-status=live }}</ref> As of {{currentyear}}, Callaghan remains the last British prime minister to be an armed forces veteran and the only one ever to have served in the Royal Navy.<ref name= "UK Parliament"/>

While on leave from the Navy, Callaghan was selected as a Parliamentary candidate for [[Cardiff South (UK Parliament constituency)|Cardiff South]]: he narrowly won the local party ballot with twelve votes, against the next highest candidate [[George Thomas, 1st Viscount Tonypandy|George Thomas]], who received eleven. Callaghan had been encouraged to put his name forward for the Cardiff South seat by his friend Dai Kneath, a member of the IRSF National executive from [[Swansea]], who was in turn an associate and friend of the local Labour Party secretary, Bill Headon.{{sfn|Conroy|2006|p=11}}

By 1945, he was serving on {{HMS|Queen Elizabeth|1913|6}} in the [[Indian Ocean]]. After [[VE Day]], he returned, along with other prospective candidates, to the United Kingdom to stand in the general election.{{sfn|Conroy|2006|p=12}}