George Harrison (18 July 1892 – 12 February 1939) was an English international

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby ...

who played as an

outside left Forwards (also known as attackers) are outfield positions in an association football team who play the furthest up the pitch and are therefore most responsible for scoring goals as well as assisting them. As with any attacking player, the role ...

Early and personal life

Harrison was born in

Church Gresley Church Gresley is a large village and former civil parish in the South Derbyshire district of Derbyshire, England. The village is situated between Castle Gresley and the town of Swadlincote, with which it is contiguous. By the time of the 2011 ...

Derbyshire Derbyshire ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands, England. It includes much of the Peak District National Park, the southern end of the Pennine range of hills and part of the National Forest. It borders Greater Manchester to the nor ...

. He was also known as Jud Harrison. He had two older siblings, and four younger siblings. He had a son (also called George) born in June 1912, and married in May 1913.

Club career

Harrison spent his early career with Gresley Rovers and

Leicester Fosse Leicester City Football Club is an English professional association football, football club based in Leicester in the East Midlands of England. The club competes in the Premier League, the highest level of English football league system, Eng ...

. He played for Everton between 1913 and 1923. He won the First Division Championship with Everton in 1915. He was loaned to Rangers in December 1914, subsequently joining the

Scots Guards The Scots Guards (SG) is one of the five Foot Guards regiments of the British Army. Its origins are as the personal bodyguard of King Charles I of England and Scotland. Its lineage can be traced back to 1642, although it was only placed on the ...

. His football career was interrupted by World War One; Harrison joined the Army in February 1916 and served as a

guardsman Guardsman is a rank used instead of private in some military units that serve as the official bodyguard of a sovereign or head of state. It is also used as a generic term for any member of a guards unit of any rank. Canada In the Canadian Force ...

, being demobilised in October 1919. During the war he fought in the

Battle of Passchendaele The Third Battle of Ypres (german: link=no, Dritte Flandernschlacht; french: link=no, Troisième Bataille des Flandres; nl, Derde Slag om Ieper), also known as the Battle of Passchendaele (), was a campaign of the First World War, fought by t ...

and was gassed. After leaving Everton in 1923 he played for Preston North End and

Blackpool Blackpool is a seaside resort in Lancashire, England. Located on the North West England, northwest coast of England, it is the main settlement within the Borough of Blackpool, borough also called Blackpool. The town is by the Irish Sea, betw ...

before retiring in 1932.

International career

He earned two caps for

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

in 1921, playing against Belgium in a 2–0 victory and against Ireland in a 1–1 draw.

Later life and death

He later became the licensee of a pub in Preston and also the licensee of the Rising Sun pub in Church Gresley. He died on 12 February 1939 aged 46, with his funeral being held in Church Gresley four days later. He had been found by his son with throat wounds in the bathroom, and an inquest ruled the death as suicide, as he suffered from depression.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Harrison, George 1892 births 1939 deaths People from Church Gresley Footballers from Derbyshire English footballers England men's international footballers Gresley Rovers F.C. players Leicester City F.C. players Everton F.C. players Rangers F.C. wartime guest players Preston North End F.C. players Blackpool F.C. players English Football League players Men's association football outside forwards British Army personnel of World War I Scots Guards soldiers Suicides by sharp instrument in England 1939 suicides