Cecil Knox | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | (1889-05-09)9 May 1889 Nuneaton, England |
| Died | 4 February 1943(1943-02-04) (aged 53) Nuneaton, England |
| Buried | Gilroes Crematorium,Leicester |
| Allegiance | United Kingdom |
| Branch | British Army Royal Auxiliary Air Force |
| Rank | Major |
| Unit | Royal Engineers Home Guard |
| Conflicts | First World War Second World War |
| Awards | Victoria Cross |
| Relations | Lieutenant ColonelJames Meldrum Knox (brother) |
MajorCecil Leonard Knox,VC (9 May 1889 − 4 February 1943) was aBritish Army officer and a recipient of theVictoria Cross, the highest award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British andCommonwealth forces.
Cecil Knox was born inNuneaton,Warwickshire, on 9 May 1889, the son of James and Florence Knox. The family were prominent in civil and railway engineering and had become affluent through their majority shareholding in the Haunchwood Brick and Tile Company. Cecil was one of nine sons who all fought in the First World War.[1] His brother, Lieutenant ColonelJames Meldrum Knox of theRoyal Warwickshire Regiment, was awarded theDistinguished Service Order andBar before being killed in action at theBattle of Asiago (1918), and another brother, Captain Thomas Kenneth Knox, gained theMilitary Cross and Bar.[2]
Educated atOundle School, Knox was 29 years old and a temporarysecond lieutenant in the 150th Field Company,Corps of Royal Engineers,British Army during theFirst World War when the following deed took place for which he was awarded the VC.
On 22 March 1918 atTugny-et-Pont,Aisne, France, Second Lieutenant Knox was entrusted with the demolition of 12 bridges. He successfully carried out this task, but in the case of one steel girder bridge the time fuse failed to act, and without hesitation he ran to the bridge under heavy fire, and when the enemy were actually on it, he tore away the time fuse and lit the instantaneous fuse, to do which he had to get under the bridge. As a practical civil engineer, Second Lieutenant Knox undoubtedly realised the grave risk he took in doing this.[3]
Between the wars Knox joined theRoyal Auxiliary Air Force and suffered from a serious parachute accident.[4] He joined the Home Guard at the beginning of theSecond World War and achieved the rank ofmajor. He died as the result of a motoring accident (his motorcycle having skidded on an icy road).[5]
