William Henry McCluskey, (18 June 1839 – 5 October 1903), Irish soldier and survivor of HMS Birkenhead. McCluskey was born in Armagh. In 1843 he emigrated with his parents to a farm near Cape Town. By the age of thirteen he had joined the Cape Mounted Rifles and was in this capacity aboard HMS Birkenhead, his unit being sent to fight in the war in the eastern province. According to an account of the incident: