Name
George Knight
Conflict
First World War
Date of Death / Age
05/08/1918
38
Rank, Service Number & Service Details
Private
65848
Royal Fusiliers *1
13th (County of London) Bn.
Awards: Service Medals/Honour Awards
Not Yet Researched
Cemetery/Memorial: Name/Reference/Country
YPRES (MENIN GATE) MEMORIAL
Panel 6 and 8.
Belgium
Headstone Inscription
Not Researched
UK & Other Memorials
Hitchin Town Memorial,
British Schools Museum Memorial, Hitchin,
St Mary's Church Roll of Honour (Book), Hitchin,
Letchworth Town Memorial
Pre War
Son of Kate Elizabeth Knight, of 38, Tilehouse St., Hitchin, Herts., and the late John Knight. George Knight was born, resided and enlisted in Hitchin.
Before joining the army, he had been educated at St. Mary's School and had been apprenticed to Mr E. Allsopp, hosier, of Market Place, Hitchin, serving in his shop. He had also been a Sunday School Teacher at St. John's Church and was a good gymnast in the Blue Cross Club.
Wartime Service
He was in the 13th Battalion of the Royal Fusiliers with the Regimental Number 65848, and had previously served in the Bedfords with Number 30642, having attested on the 28th June 1916, being his 18th birthday. He went to France on the 22nd May 1917 and was killed in action on the 5th August 1917. He is said to have been shot by a sniper and died where he fell. His grave was marked with a cross on which had been written his name and Regiment. His mother was Mrs Knight of 8, Old Park Road, Hitchin. Bearing in mind the close connection with Hitchin, if he is not the ‘C. T. Knight’ on the Hitchin War Memorial it is strange that he is not recorded separately under his own initials. However, at that time it was common for men to have nicknames and this makes for considerable confusion of identification.
The action on the 5th August 1917 was an attack on Ration Trench at Pozieres Ridge north east of Albert. At 1.00am reports came of sniping from Germans who were in No Man’s Land, a situation that was not cleared until the afternoon. Many of the men were new to warfare but were said to have had an admirable bearing in their first experience of actual fighting.
Additional Information
The Hitchin War Memorial refers to him as ‘C.T.’ whereas the Lawson Thompson Scrapbooks refer to ‘W.G.’ of the Royal Fusiliers.
George had a brother whose name was John Charles Knight, a Corporal in the Hertfordshire Regiment who went missing on the 31st July 1917 and was later reported as a prisoner of war at Dulmen in Germany, though there is no evidence that he died.
*1 Believed more correctly, (County of London) Bn. London Regiment (Kensington).
Acknowledgments
Adrian Dunne, David C Baines, Dan Hill, Janet Capstick, Jonty Wild
