Other Information:George first enlisted at Hyde on the 5th September 1914, He was 30 years old, was a a rope splicer in a local ropery by trade, and was living at 4 Aughton Street, Hyde. He was sent to serve with the Cheshire Regiment and was allocated to the 11th Battalion becoming 16911 Pte. G. Meikle. On the 2nd October 1914 he was admitted to the 2nd Southern General Hospital in Bristol suffering from bronchitis, and was discharged after recovering on the 15th October 1914. He continued serving 137 days, but on 19th January 1915 he was discharged from the Army as ‘not likely to become an efficient soldier’. He was considered to be medically unfit due to deafness of the middle ear. He enlisted for the second time on the 5th September 1915 and served for 169 days with the 8th Reserve Battery, Royal Field Artillery (Service No 105699), but was discharged on 21st February 1916, again for medical reasons. Not to be deterred, on 8th June 1917, he enlisted for a third time. By now his family were living at 9 Vulcan Street, Newbridge Lane, Stockport. He was appointed to the R.A.M.C. and on 21st June 1917 joined ‘P’ Company for training at Ripon, North Yorkshire. He was posted for service with No 6 Coy based at Cosham. George then began to suffer from stomach problems, with inflammation of the stomach and gastritis, and spent three periods in hospital from 25th July 1917 to 14th August 1917; from 22nd December 1917 to 14th February 1918 (Victoria Hospital, Blackpool & the Military Hospital, Kirkham near Preston), and from 10th April 1918 to 29th May 1918. On the 10th July 1918 he had had another medical. A chronic inflammation of the middle ear was identified and again George was discharged as ‘not likely to become an efficient soldier’ on the 12th July 1918. He was released and transferred to Class 'W' of the Army Reserve. On the 26th July 1918 he resumed civil employment with Dixon & Corbitt and R. S. Newall and Co. Ltd. Teams Rope Works in Gateshead. He died in Stockport. The cause of death was ‘dilation and hypertrophy of the stomach’ due to natural causes. He was the husband of Annie Eliza Meikle, and father to Charlotte (b. July 1913), Harry (b. January 1916), and Mary (b. September 1917). At the time the family were living at 2 Pownalls Court, Tamworth Street, Stockport. He was buried in Brunswick Methodist Church Burial Ground, Portwood, Stockport but is commemorated in Stockport (Willow Grove) Cemetery. [Information researched and kindly provided by Chris Ludlam]
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