243628 Pte. Charles William Knight British Army 8th (Post Office Rifles) Btn. London Regiment from:Bethnal Green Charles Knight signed up in 1913 and when the war broke out in 1914 was eager to serve his country. My Grandfather, his much younger brother, remembers cheering and watching the soldiers marching through London to the station. Charlie was injured on the first day of the Battle of Loos with a gunshot wound to the head, however, he bounced back and was in service again without being sent home, a lucky shot I suppose as his regiment suffered heavy losses that day to be hit in the head and get up again was typical of him! He continued fighting until he was injured again during the Battle of the Somme at High Wood when he received a gunshot wound to the groin on the 15th of September 1916. He was sent home on the 22nd of September 1916 where he made a recovery and married his sweetheart, Evelyn. My grandfather could never understand why Charles and Evie hadn't had children despite knowing she longed for them, it would appear that his now released war records show that although he was one of the lucky ones that escaped with his life, he did not return unscathed. He was 17 when he signed up for service and by the age of 20 had suffered two significant injuries, the last severe enough to end his service with two years of the war still to run. I can only feel immensely proud of him and of my grandfather who went on to also be severely injured in WW2 when he served as a Desert Rat.
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