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Cenotaph record

William Leslie Knowles

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Portrait from The Weekly News; 3 September 1941 - This image may be subject to copyright

Portrait from The Weekly News; 3 September 1941 - This image may be subject to copyright

Identity

About

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  • Title
  • Forenames
    William Leslie AWMM
  • Surname
    Knowles AWMM
  • Ingoa
  • Also known as
  • Service number
    • NZ402160 AWMM
    • WWII 402160 AWMM
  • Gender
    Male AWMM
  • Iwi / Hapū / Waka / Rohe
  • Religion

Civilian life

About birth

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  • Birth
    24 December 1919 AWMM New Plymouth, Taranaki AWMM
  • Date of birth
  • Place of birth
    New Plymouth Public - Teina Maree - Other relative - 17 September 2021 - New Plymouth
  • Birth notes
  • Address before enlistment
  • Post war occupation
  • Next of kin on embarkation
    • WW2 Mother: Mrs. E. Knowles. 36 Buller St, New Plymouth AWMM
    • WW2 Mrs. E. Knowles of New Plymouth AWMM
    • Perce Edward Knowles ... brother
      Joyce Knowles ... sister
      Molly Knowles (deceased) ... sister
      Rex Knowles (brother) Public - Teina Maree - Other relative - 17 September 2021 - Family notated history
  • Relationship status
    Single/WWII AWMM

Service

Wars and conflicts

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Military decorations

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Training and Enlistment

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  • Military training
  • Branch Trade Proficiency
    Pilot/Military RNZAF Biographies (R17845612)
  • Enlistment
    WW2 1940 AWMM Printer/Civilian AWMM
  • Occupation before enlistment
  • Age on enlistment

Embarkations

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Prisoner of war

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  • Capture details
  • Days interned
  • Liberation date
  • Liberation Repatriation
  • POW liberation details
  • POW serial number

Medical history

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  • Medical notes
    Killed in Action, Cause of Death AWMM
    Killed on air operations AWMM

Biographical information

Biographical information

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    • William Knowles was the son of Ellen Knowles, of New Plymouth, Taranaki, New Zealand.

      Biographical details are found in an article about an embroidered silk memorial, a fragment from the parachute from the fatal, in the Review in 1974. The article includes a photograph of the silk.

      Attended New Plymouth Boys High School (Source: RNZAF Biographies (R17845612)) AWMM
    • William Leslie Knowles was born in New Plymouth on 24 December 1919 and on leaving school worked as a printer for the Taranaki Herald. In 1940 he enlisted with the Royal New Zealand Air Force and began his training. By February 1941 he had been promoted to Sergeant and was sent to the United Kingdom via Canada. His first operational posting was to No 106 Squadron based at Coningsby, Lincolnshire. On only his second operational flight the Hampden bomber he was pilot and captain of failed to return to base, with the loss of all crew on-board. The flight on 6 August 1941 took off to attack a target in Mannheim, Germany but crashed near Gendringen, Holland. William Knowles was buried in the Roman Catholic Cemetery, Gendringen, Holland. He was 21 years old. Public - Louise - Researcher - 22 July 2019 - West, J. (1995). Lest We Forget. New Plymouth: New Plymouth Boy’s High School Centennial Trust.
      Puke Ariki, Swainson/Woods Collection ARC#WD.054676
      Retrieved from https://collection.pukeariki.com/objects/157005
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Death

About death

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  • Death
    6 August 1941 AWMM
    Age 21 AWMM
    The Netherlands (Holland), Europe AWMM
  • Date of death
    Wednesday, 6th august 1941 at 01:00 Public - G.J. - 24 February 2015 - My father and my uncle told me that, they lived in the house were he was crashed, i live in the house now, i have also some old pictures from after the crash, let me know if you want to see them.
  • Age at death
  • Place of death
    • Gelderland province - Gendringen, about 16 kilometer southeast of Doetinchem Public - G.J. - 24 February 2015 - My father and my uncle told me that, they lived in the house were he was crashed, i live in the house now, i have also some old pictures from after the crash, let me know if you want to see them.
    • Breedenbroek Public - karl - Researcher - 5 December 2023 - Municipal Archive of Gendringen: Police report.
  • Cause of death
    • Killed in Action AWMM
    • His aircraft was shot down by a night-fighter Public - G.J. - 24 February 2015 - My father and my uncle told me that, they lived in the house were he was crashed, i live in the house now, i have also some old pictures from after the crash, let me know if you want to see them.
    • Aircraft was shot down by Flak: The aircraft was hit by 6 Flak batteries of the 4. Flak division. Public - karl - Researcher - 5 December 2023 - Nachjagd Combat Archive - Theo Boiten : The Early Years part 2, page 15. ( 1 and 3./Res.Flak Abt. 401, 1-3./Res.Flak Abt 447 and 3./Res.Flak Abt.646).
  • Death notes
  • Cemetery
    Gendringen Roman Catholic Cemetery, Netherlands AWMM Row A. Grave 4. AWMM
  • Cemetery name
  • Grave reference
  • Obituary
  • Memorial name
  • Memorial reference

Memorials

Memorial

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  • Memorial name

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Sources

Sources

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  • External links
  • References
    • RSA review: the official journal of the N.Z. Returned Services' Association AWMM
      She didn't forget. (1974, June 19). Review. p. 10 AWMM
    • Martyn, E. (1998-2008). For Your Tomorrow (Vols. 1-3). Christchurch, N.Z.: Volplane Press. AWMM
    • RNZAF [Royal New Zealand Air Force] Biographies of Deceased Personnel 1939 - 1945 (Bound Volumes) - Ib - Ly. Archives New Zealand (R17845612) - Former archives reference: AIR118 AWMM
    • List of RNZAF [Royal New Zealand Air Force] Personnel - List of Personnel Killed or Missing in Various Theatres, 1940 - 1945. [Missing - But Presumed Dead on Lapse of Time - Officers, Airmen]. Archives New Zealand (R17845743) AWMM
    • Please note that the 12 volumes of the "RNZAF [Royal New Zealand Air Force] Biographies of Deceased Personnel 1939-1945" held at Archives NZ (formerly known as AIR118) should be used in conjunction with Errol Martyn's "For Your Tomorrow". FYT reflects detailed examination of all of the AIR118 bios which contain many inaccuracies and omissions. AWMM
    • List of RNZAF [Royal New Zealand Air Force] Personnel - Embarkation Lists, November 1940 - July 1942. Archives New Zealand, Wellington (R17845762). AWMM

Contributors

Command item
Command item
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DateFirst namesLocationRelationshipContact
05 December 2023karlNetherlandsResearcher
17 September 2021Teina MareeNew Plymouth, New ZealandOther relative
16 July 2020JohnUKOther
22 July 2019LouiseNew Plymouth, New ZealandResearcher
24 February 2015G.J.Breedenbroek - Gendringen- NetherlandsOther

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