3rd Battalion, Gloucestershire Regiment
Maurice John Knight was born in 1894 and at the time of enlistment was aged 20 years, unmarried and living at Victoria Cottage, Churchdown, employed as a labourer.
He enlisted for the duration of the war, home service only, on 6 July 1915 (although there is some evidence of previous service with the Glosters in 1913). On 18 July 1915 he joined the 3rd Glosters and transferred to another unit (1st Battalion?) on March 1916, before returning to the 3rd Glosters on 3 December 1916.
On 18 April 1917 he was discharged from the Army as ‘no longer physically fit for war service’, which was due to his contraction of pulmonary tuberculosis. Evidently this has been diagnosed at Maidstone in December 1916.
On 8 May 1917 he wrote from Cranham Lodge Sanatorium, near Stroud, to claim his Silver War Badge (SWB) – these were worn by men who were no longer in the Army due to wounds or illness. The SWB records indicate that he did not serve abroad.
A recently released Pension Record Card confirms that he died of tuberculosis on 9 June 1918; he was 21 years old. It shows his next of kin to be Mrs Annie Knight, of The Firs, Parton Road, Churchdown.
Pte Knight is buried in Churchdown (St. Bartholomew) Churchyard, where a standard CWGC headstone marks his grave.
Unusually both his Service and Pension Records survive, in some form, at the National Archives.
Researched by Graham Adams 23 October 2019 (revised)