Birth | 1887, Upper Froyle, Hants | |
Parents | Son of James & Emma Knight, Ackender Road, Alton, Hants. | |
Residence | Basingstoke | |
Occupation | Butcher | |
Enlisted | Basingstoke, Hants | |
Regiment | 1st Battalion, Hampshire Regiment | |
Regimental No: | 25322 | |
Rank | Private | |
Service Record | ||
Death | 4th October 1917, killed in action, aged 30 | |
Theatre of War | France & Flanders | |
Commemoration | Poelcapelle Cemetery | |
Medals | Victory Medal, British War Medal | |
Frederick Knight was born in Upper Froyle, in June 1887, the son of James and Emma (née Lovell) Knight, and, at the time of the 1911 Census, Frederick was a butcher and the family were still living in the village. Later, his parents would move to Ackender Road, Alton. On 4th August 1913 Frederick married Flora Elsie Simpson and the couple moved to Basingstoke. They were living at 13 Drapers Terrace at the time of Frederick’s death. By the time the Imperial War Graves Commission (later to be re-named Commonwealth War Graves Commission) were contacting next of kin, his wife had remarried and was Flora Heilbron, living at 72 Winchester Road, Basingstoke. Frederick enlisted in Basingstoke and served as 25322 Private Frederick Knight with the 1st Battalion Hampshire Regiment. The 1st Battalion, as part of the 11th Brigade, 4th Division, went from Colchester with the original Expeditionary Force. It fought throughout the whole war in France and Belgium, and won the name of ‘The Stone Wallers’. |
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Frederick was killed in action in France on 4th October 1917, aged 30. He was awarded the British War Medal and the Victory Medal. He is laid to rest in Poelcapelle Cemetery, France, Grave XXXIV.F.10. |
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Frederick George Knight is also commemorated on the Basingstoke War Memorial, along with 233 others killed during the Great War or who died of illness and injury following the conflict. | ||
This extract from the Report on Operations of 1st Battalion, Hampshire Regiment was written on 4th October 1917, the day Frederick Knight was killed. | ||
Troops were formed up on assembly positions by 2am. About 5am the enemy commenced shelling intermittently the line of DOUBLE COTTS, increasing the intensity until Zero Hour. |
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As you can read above, this had been a difficult day with many of the casualties caused by our own artillery | ||
Frederick’s grave in Poelcapelle Cemetery. All the CWGC headstones were identical whether an officer or a private. All are equal in death |