Am currently reading about Max Knight (of MI5; son of Hugh Coleraine Knight and Ada Phyllis Knight nee Hancock). Hemming's book M mentions that Knight's brother was killed in 1918. This looks to be the correct CWGC link: Casualty Captain KNIGHT, HUGH ERIC COLERAINE Died 11/04/1918 3rd Bn. attd. 1st Bn. East Lancashire Regiment Commemorated at PLOEGSTEERT MEMORIAL Location: Hainaut, Belgium Number of casualties: 11403 Cemetery/memorial reference: Panel 5 and 6. Does anyone have the war diary for 1st Bn, or any reference to the circumstances of his death?
Hi D, Ancestry don't have the 1st war diaries for after Feb I am afraid. But here they are at the National Archives from March 1918-1919. 1 Battalion East Lancashire Regiment | The National Archives Mike.
Malvern College First World War WW1 Roll of Honour on the Bournemouth Roll of Honour KNIGHT, Hugh Eric Coleraine, Captain, East Lancs A roll of honour for Bournemouth's WW1 dead
The April Offensive (Battle of the Lys) The next phase of the German offensive started on 9th April with an attack further north near the River Lys, where the main weight of the assault fell on a Portuguese division, which collapsed. The enemy poured into the gap, attacking the exposed flanks and rear areas of divisions to the north and south. The situation was critical, prompting Field Marshal Haig on 11th April to issue a stark Order of the Day: ‘There is no other course open to us but to fight it out. Every position must be held to the last man: there must be no retirement. With our backs to the wall, and believing in the justice of our cause, each one of us must fight on to the end.’ Again the Germans made gains, but after a great effort they were held short of their Hazebrouck objective. Nine battalions of our Lancashire predecessors were involved in stemming this offensive. The 31st Division, including 11th East Lancashires raced north to fill the gap behind the Portuguese sector, and fought the enemy to a standstill in three days of incessant fighting to defend Hazebrouck. The 11th Battalion played a notable part in this successful defensive battle, in particular by a stubborn stand on 13th April when they held their ground in the face of three direct assaults at the cost of another 240 casualties. Givenchy The 55th Division, which included the 1/4th and 5th South Lancashires and the 1/4th Loyal North Lancashires, was in the line between Givenchy and Festubert when the Portuguese to their north collapsed, but the West Lancashire men held their positions on the southern flank of the assault with splendid valour and tenacity and refused to give ground. In this, their most famous action, the 55th Division fully sustained their hard-won reputation as an elite division. It was perhaps the finest Territorial Division action of the war. Nearby, the 1st Loyals were involved towards the end of the offensive when on 18th April they counter-attacked to restore the 1st Division main line. On the northern flank of the breakthrough the 34th Division, including 1st East Lancashires, was outflanked by the Portuguese collapse and fell back through Armentières to occupy a succession of blocking positions around Bailleul. A brigade of the 25th Division, including 9th Loyals, moved south to assist the 34th and 40th Divisions, and the Loyals counter-attacked at Croix du Bac on April 10th, near Bailleul on the 13th and at Kemmel on the 25th. A few miles to the east, the 2nd South Lancashires were in action on the 10th at Ploegsteert, and next day also moved south to beat off two attacks at Neuve Eglise. On the 12th, and again on the 13th, the Battalion was forced back to the Ravelsberg where, after another day’s severe fighting the survivors were relieved on the night of the 14th. Losses in the April offensive were again terrible: 662 for the 2nd South Lancashires and 821 for 9th Loyals; but, remarkably, morale remained high. Villers-Bretonneux Whilst the main action of the April offensive took place on the Lys, further south the Germans made a renewed attempt to reach Amiens. At dawn on 24th April the 2nd East Lancashires were occupying trenches in front of Villers-Bretonneux when they were overwhelmed and forced back by a heavy bombardment and infantry assault supported by tanks, gas and liquid fire. The survivors held the rear of the village throughout the day, preventing a further enemy advance, and that evening the village was recovered by two Australian and two British brigades. The East Lancashires were relieved on the 29th. The Regiments In The Great War 1914-18 | Lancashire Infantry Museum
