George McCluskey one of 12 children of whom only 9 survived, was the 5th born of 7 brothers and 2 sisters. His father John McCluskey born 1861 in Ireland was brought to England as a child, his family settled in County Durham moving between the colliery villages. He married a girl named Annie, native of Carlisle, Cumberland, born 1866, settling at Dipton, County Durham, where William James was born in 1889 and John 1890, Joseph in 1891 while they were living at Thompson’s House, Collierley where John supported his family employed as a coke drawer. They remained at Collierley for the next 10 years, he and his wife had a further 4 children, Bernard 1894, George, May 19th 1895, Annie 1900 and Mary Ellen 1901 before returning to Dipton where son Michael and his brother Felix were born in 1906 and 1908 respectively. By 1911 they were living at 57, Long Row, Coxhoe, John had been joined at the colliery by his elder sons, William (23) and brother Joseph (19) were employed as putters, Bernard (17) a shaft worker and George (15) a pony driver.

He enlisted at Durham, November 12th 1914 and was assigned as Private 75361 East Yorkshire Regiment, joining his regiment at Beverley in Yorkshire 2 days later where he was posted November 23rd to the 3rd Battalion. The 3rd Battalion was a training unit which remained in England for the duration of the war as the Humber Garrison, also providing men for the draft. He was later posted to the 13th Battalion, a Territorial Force. The decision was taken, March 9th 1915, that he be discharged, due to having 30% defective vision, under Kings Regulations 392(iii), “not being likely to become an effective soldier,” free to return to his family home at 11, Hedley Hill, Waterhouses, near Cornsay, County Durham and his employment as a miner.

All the older McCluskey brothers would have been eligible to enlist during WW1, the only other details that have survived refer to William James McCluskey who served with the Durham Light Infantry and was killed in action May 30th 1918.

George’s father John McCluskey died aged 54 years in 1916, his mother Annie in 1928 aged 63 years, both registered in the district of Lanchester.

In God’s safe keeping. Rest In Peace.