13th Reserve Battalion, Canadian Infantry
Murray William McKnight was born in Apohaqui, New Brunswick, Canada on 2 September 1896. He was the eldest son of Hanford and Margaret McKnight. He had two younger siblings, Hanford and Marguerite.
At the time of his enlistment into the Army, on 20 May 1918, Murray declared himself single, religion as Presbyterian and occupation as a carpenter. He weighed 140 pounds, stood 5 feet 8 inches tall and had brown hair, hazel eyes and a medium complexion.
Initially he was posted New Brunswick Regiment, 1st Depot Battalion and upon arrival in Europe to the 13th Reserve Battalion.
Murray was sick when he was leaving for the UK and his father did not want him to leave. He was determined to do so and believed that he would recover on the voyage. His father was so worried about his son’s health that he paced the floors of his house constantly after the troopship departed. Before embarking on the SS Victoria Murray had spent time in the Pine Hill Hospital in Halifax, Nova Scotia, suffering from pneumonia. When discharged to his unit he was deemed fit only for light duty.
He arrived in England on 18 October 1918 and was immediately admitted to the Nightingale Hospital in Cheltenham, suffering from influenza and pneumonia, which had become worse as the voyage progressed. His condition was serious, with both lungs badly affected and at night he was assigned an individual nurse. His condition progressively worsened and he became unconscious. He died on Thursday, 24 October 1918 at 8.45am; he was 22 years old. A nurse at the hospital, Mrs Alice G L Williams, wrote to the family detailing his final hours. In her letter she said that he died peacefully in hospital, having never had the chance to fight the war he was so determined to fight. She wrote ‘in comfort, he did not suffer beyond weariness. He dozed a lot and took very little notice of anything or anybody’.
Murray William Knight is buried in Gloucester Old Cemetery, where a standard CWGC headstone marks his grave.
Researched by Graham Adams (from source unknown) 17 November 2011