Knowles, Lawrence

BORN HULL 1885. HULL PAL. SON OF THE LATE SARAH AND JOSEPH KNOWLES. DOCKSIDE LABOURER. BEFORE THE WAR HE HAD BEEN IMPRISONED FOR GAMBLING. ENLISTED IN THE HULL PALS 14/9/1914. SERVED IN EGYPT. ARRIVED FRANCE 8/3/1916. ON 27/5/1916 HE SHOT HIMSELF IN THE LEFT FOOT WHILE CLEANING HIS RIFLE. IT WAS SUSPECTED THAT THIS MAY HAVE BEEN A SELF INFLICTED INJURY. ON 4/6/1916 HE WAS SENTENCED TO 21 DAYS FIELD PUNISHMENT NO:1, FOR LEAVING A LIVE ROUND IN HIS RIFLE CONTRARY TO ORDERS. REJOINED HIS UNIT ON 9/7/1916. KILLED IN ACTION 13/11/1916, AGED 31. LEFT ARMY EFFECTS TO HIS SISTERS SUSANNAH WOOD ABOVE ADDRESS, ANNIE McGOWAN AND FLORENCE LANCASTER. LISTED ON THE REFORM STREET ROLL OF HONOUR, HDM 26/10/17.
Hull Pals Memorial Post. PRIVATE LAWRENCE KNOWLES 12/43. Born in July 1885, Lawrence was the son of Joseph and Sarah Knowles of 2 Whitby Place, Blenheim Street, Hull. A Dock Labourer by trade he had already had a spell serving His Majesty, though this first stint was at His leisure for “gambling”. When war came he enlisted at City Hall on 11th September 1914 joining the 12th Battalion East Yorkshire Regiment, 3rd Hull Pals. It appears lapses in discipline were a regular feature of his life in uniform, most notably when around 7pm on 27th May 1916 his rifle went off as he cleaned it in the front line, causing a wound to the third toe on his left foot. The army suspected this was a self-inflicted wound and that Lawrence was trying to escape the front line, but a court martial ruled it as being “neglect to the prejudice of good order” in that he had a round in his barrel contrary to orders. They initially appear to have sentenced him to a few days Field Punishment No.2 upon his recovery though he appears to have talked himself into that being increased to 21 days Field Punishment No.1 instead. He must have had a way with words, for he managed the same trick again on 25th August when 7 days FP No.1 was upped to 28 the day after. He sounds like quite a fella. Lawrence Knowles was killed in action on 13th November 1916 at Serre on the Somme and was buried in Euston Road Cemetery; he was 31 years old.

Serre, 13th November 1916