Cecil
Knox (9th May 1889 to 4th February 1943)
Though there was no grave to
salute I thought I’d visit this cemetery in Leicester to see where Cecil had
been cremated. He was born in Warwickshire, the eighth brother of nine (didn't
his parents anything else do in the evenings?) Perhaps everything he had had
been passed down to him (even his underpants) but perhaps not as his parents were
wealthy, owning a share in a brick company. It was probable their son would
join the army as his dad was one of nine brothers who were all soldiers. Mr and
Mrs Knox must have been awfully worried as six of their sons fought in World
War One and two were killed.
Not much is known about Cecil's war life. He was
a qualified engineer and joined the 150th Field Company and fought in various
countries. By the time he was 29 he was fighting in Tugny
in northern France (east of Amiens.) On Friday 22nd March 1918 he
had been tasked with blowing up 12 bridges. While under heavy gunfire he
strapped explosives to the a steel girder on one of the bridges and returned to
relative safety. When the fuse failed he had to return to it. By this time the
enemy were on the bridge itself and putting him under a hail of bullets.
Without hesitation he sprinted to the explosives, tore away the time fuse and
lit the instantaneous fuse. Before they exploded he jumped down and got under
the bridge before a section exploded. All 12 bridges were successfully wrecked
by explosives.
Victoria Cross medals are normally pinned on
chests at Buckingham Palace or Windsor Castle but King George 5th was
touring France and was at army headquarters in St Omer in France when he
presented Cecil with his.
Away from war Cecil was married Eileen and they
had a daughter Catrina. Between the wars he joined
the Royal Auxiliary Air Force and took up flying. He had a serious parachute
accident that ended any effective soldiering and returned home to Nuneaton.
During World War II he was a Major in the Home Guard. Sadly one morning he skidded
off his motorbike and suffered head injuries. He was rushed unconscious to
Nuneaton General Hospital and his wife was called. Sadly she never saw Cecil
recover consciousness and about three hours after the crash he died aged 53.
With flowers from his own garden on his coffin
Cecil was cremated at the crematorium where I’m stood. In his later years he'd lived
in his beautiful home in Nuneaton surrounded by a swimming pool, workshop,
grounds and gardens. His ashes were sprinkled in the muck there (private - I
can’t get in.) His Victoria Cross was passed to his daughter. I did a heart
salute to the chimney where some of Cecil floated out into the ether forever.
Cecil's daughter wearing the VC...
Cecil's ashes are buried here at the
family home (but it's private)...
