Dennis Knight

Click on the images to enlarge.

In March 1941, the Knight family was told that their only son Dennis was missing in action.  That day, his sister wrote in her diary, ‘I don’t believe it! It is inconceivable.’  Dennis was 19 when his plane went down on a patrol near Malta.  Before he left, Dennis had told his mother, “If anything happens to me, I should be most annoyed if you grieved for me.”  The family did mourn their loss, but the family also found ways to keep Dennis’ memory alive.

Dennis’ mother wrote his name above him in this picture.  His fellow pilots autographed this picture for her.

‘Your news has come as a great shock to me for, where you have lost a son, I have lost the FINEST PUPIL I have ever trained. … I considered him one of the most naturally born pilots I have ever known.  Added to his skill was a charm and cheerfulness which made for happiness amongst his associates. … All grand boys but he was, somehow, to me, just so much more ahead and above the others….’
Dennis’ Flight Instructor

Dennis’ aunt, uncle and mother went to the unveiling of the Malta Memorial in 1954.  They gathered these flowers from the airstrip where Dennis took his last flight.

‘Into the mosaic of victory, I lay this
Priceless piece, my dearest one.’
Dennis’ father

‘Words cannot express my feelings when I heard your clear, sweet, calm voice on the phone last night telling me that Dennis your only son (and what a son) had given his life for his country and for us.’
Dennis’ Grandmother

This is one of the plaques at the foot of the Malta Memorial.