Private Ernest Knifton
Ernest Knifton was born in early 1899 in the district of Ashby-de-la-Zouch, Leicestershire, one of eleven children of coal miner Charles Knifton and his wife Jane (née Birch). By the time of the 1911 Census he was living at nearby Ravenstone with his parents and six of his seven surviving siblings.
Knifton enlisted or was called-up on 19 February 1916. It is probable that he was posted to the Derbyshire Yeomanry (probably the 2/1st Regiment, a cyclist unit based in the Canterbury area). He remained with his regiment in the UK until 12 September 1918, when he and 55 other men of the regiment were compulsorily transferred to the Corps of Hussars (No.81263) and posted to the 1st North Irish Horse Regiment, which was then serving in France as corps cyclist regiment to V Corps. They embarked at Folkestone for Boulogne that day, joining the regiment in the field six days later.
Knifton, serving as a signaller, was wounded (gassed) on 3 October 1918 during the Advance to Victory offensive. At the time, E Squadron was camped east of Epehy, near the German defences on the St Quentin Canal. The squadron war diary recorded:
[1-2 October] Attached 100th Inf Brdge 33rd Division. Sent out a patrol under 2/Lt Downey to reconnoitre Canal de St Quentin ... preparatory to small raiding operations on following night which however never took place.
[3 October] 15 ORs Gassed by gas shelling. Sqdn moved forward to Battn H.Q. owing to report that enemy were retiring. This did not prove to be the case, so Sqdn moved back to previous location and were engaged in afternoon on salvage work.
On 13 January 1919 he was discharged, being 'surplus to military requirements, not having suffered impairment since entry into the service' (paragraph 392 xxv(a), King's Regulations).