Content warning: child death
Life story retold by Dr Rhi Smith, Director of UMASCS (University Museums & Special Collections Services)
Bernard George KNIGHT was born to William Leslie KNIGHT and Emma E KNIGHT (nee JONES) of 297 London Road.
Bernard’s father William worked at the shop of Bernard’s grandfather Joseph (1854 -1946). In 1885 Joseph moved his family and business from Tewkesbury to Reading. His daughters and sons (including Bernard’s father) were all involved in the family business at 39 Erleigh Road and the Arcade in Reading. In 1929 Joseph was listed as having run his business for 40 years.
Bernard and his family were heavily involved in Wycliffe Baptist Church. His father was the secretary of Wycliffe Baptist Church and by 1929 his grandfather Joseph had been superintendent of the Sunday school for 30 years.
Bernard was a student at Alfred Sutton Primary school and we found his funeral mentioned in the logbook (Royal Berkshire Archives) when studying the life of its headteacher Miss Eliza Chattaway.
Bernard (aged 6) and his brother Ronald (aged 9) were in a fatal accident on London Road, Reading on 2nd October 1929. While crossing the road hand in hand on their way to school, they were knocked down by a commercial motor van. His brother Ronald was only bruised. However, the wheels of the van passed over Bernard and he was rushed to the Royal Berkshire Hospital. He was found to have a fractured skull and died a few minutes following admission.
His memorial service was at Wycliffe Baptist Church, which is still an active place of worship on Cemetery Junction. The mourners sang ‘Safe in the arms of Jesus’ and ‘Nearer my god to thee’. Following the service he was interred at the cemetery where there was also a large crowd of mourners.
The newspaper lists the mourners as his parents, his sister Joan, his grandfather George Jones, his aunt May Jones, his uncle C.R. Jones, his aunt K.L. Knight, his aunt and uncle Mr and Mrs H.R. Knight and Miss Chattaway, his teacher.
Bernard’s family home faced the cemetery on the north side so he would have walked past the cemetery every day. The newspaper description says that he was hit on the road opposite his house which means was fatally struck right next to the cemetery wall. His family stayed in the house for several years until 1939, so Bernard’s grave would have been within a short distance and might even have been visible from the house’s upper floor windows.
The van which killed Bernard was owned by Messrs A and L Midditch of 47 Hackney Grove London and was being driven by Leonard Belcher of 104 Pownall Road London. He was not charged.
His brother Ronald became an engineer (1939) and married in 1948. He served with the Fleet Air Farm in Malta during the war and was the manager of Port Harcourt in Nigeria (for Holt and Co Liverpool). In 1949 he was one of the few Europeans living in the country with his wife. He was made a special constable to help quell the riots. The actions of the constabulary in quelling the riots was the source of an inquiry.
The following members of the Knight family are also listed as buried in this cemetery:
- Bernard Knight (1883-1903) bank clerk died aged 21
- Elsie Eveline Knight (1890-1891) died aged 1 year old
- Joseph H Knight (1854-1946) buried 12th Feb 1946
Sources
- Reading Standard 5th October 1929
- Reading Standard 12 October 1929
Division 15, Row P, Plot 4