Alfred Joseph Knight

Alfred Joseph Knight, VC MBE (24 August 1888 in Birmingham - 4 December 1960, also in Birmingham) was an English recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces. He is currently the only Post Office Rifleman ever to receive this award.

Knight was 29 years old, and a sergeant in the 2/8th (City of London) Battalion, The London Regiment (Post Office Rifles), British Army during the First World War when the following deed took place for which he was awarded the VC (held by [http://www.postalheritage.org.uk the British Postal Museum & Archive] ).

On 20 September 1917 at Alberta Section, Ypres, Belgium, when his platoon came under very heavy fire from an enemy machine-gun, Sergeant Knight rushed through our own barrage and captured it single-handed. He performed several other acts of conspicuous bravery single-handed, all under heavy machine-gun and rifle fire and without regard to personal safety. All the platoon officers of the company had become casualties before the first objective was reached, and this NCO took command not only of all the men of his own platoon but of the platoons without officers and his energy in consolidating and reorganising was untiring. He later achieved the rank of second lieutenant.

References

*Monuments to Courage (David Harvey, 1999)
*The Register of the Victoria Cross (This England, 1997)
*VCs of the First World War - Passchendaele 1917 (Stephen Snelling, 1998)

External links

* [http://www.homeusers.prestel.co.uk/stewart/warwicks.htm Location of grave and VC medal] "(Warwickshire)"