Teunis Schuurman, a Dutch writer and designer, has a huge website, much of which is devoted to pictures of wartime memorials and crash sites. On this page (which is very large — scroll about three quarters of the way down) I found pictures of a plaque commemorating Les Knight, at Den Ham in the Netherlands. (Images courtesy Dick Breedijk.)
The inscription is in Dutch. Translated into English it reads:
Early in the morning of 16 Sep 1943 a Lancaster of the RAF crashed in this meadow. The Australian Pilot of the 4-engine bomber – Fl/Lt Leslie Gorden Knight, DSO – was killed after he ordered his seven crewmen to bail out first.
He was buried the same day at the “Old Cemetery” in Den Ham. The others landed safely nearby. The two left engines were out, but he pulled up to avoid the disaster of a crash on the village of Den Ham. That night the plane was on a raid targetting a dyke of the Dortmund-Ems canal near Ladbergen. Les Knight and his crew belonged to 617 Squadron and in May 1943 were also one of the “Dambusters”, the famous attack on the Ruhr dams in Germany.
This raid took place in very bad weather conditions. The 617 Squadron detachment were using a new thin case 12,000lb bomb, dropped from a very low height. However they failed to damage the canal, and five aircraft were lost. Four complete crews and Les Knight, pilot of the fifth plane, were killed. All the remaining seven of Knight’s crew, including Fred Sutherland, still alive and well in Canada, baled out while Knight struggled to keep his damaged aircraft aloft. They owe their lives to him, as do people in the village of Den Ham which he managed to avoid when crashing.
Being in the USA i didn’t hear much about him but now i have. It’s too bad a lot of heroes die so young.
Fred Sutherland, rear gunner, and Sidney Hobday, navigator wound up with a Dutch resistance group, including myself, in a hut in the woods near the village of Lage Vuurse, in the center of Holland. After they were smuggled back to England, our group was found out and raided by German forces on the 29th of December 1943. The only ones still alive at this date are myself, other Dutch resistance member Herman Munninghof, and Fred Sutherland with whom I correspond regularly. I have several photographs of Sutherland and Hobday with our resistance group in the woods.
Ed Lessing
Mr Lessing – I am fascinated to hear that you were in a Resistance Group with the survivors of Les Knight’s crew. Have you written anything about your experience, or is there a website with more information and the photos you have? – if not, do please consider doing something about it as it would be terrible if your information were lost to history.”
By the way, the History Channel website has a wonderful, poignant interview with Knight’s flight engineer, recorded around 2003, in which he describes being the last man to bale out of AJ-N while Knight battled to maintain jump height. There are so many stories of courage across all the services, from all nations, in WWII and of course other wars; but few of them match the self-sacrificing heroism of Les Knight. Greater love hath no man, than that he shall lay down his life for his friends – and lest we forget.
Hello Ed, I too have some pictures from the resistance group, passed to me by my late Grandfather, Sidney Hobday. I would love to exchange images, if I have any that you do not already posses. Daniel.
I have long wondered why he was not awarded a posthumous VC. Does anyone know why not?
Pilot Officer Leslie Gordon Knight
(RAAF)
Award for Dambusters Raid: Distinguished Service Order
This order was established to reward officers who exhibited individual instances of meritorious or distinguished service in war. It was usually awarded for service under fire or under conditions equivalent to service in actual combat with the enemy. However, from 1914 to 1916 it was awarded under circumstances which could not be regarded as under fire. After January 1, 1917, commanders in the field were instructed to recommend this award only for those serving under fire. Prior to 1943, the order could be given only to someone who had already been Mentioned in Despatches. The order is generally given to officers in command above the rank of Lieutenant-Colonel. Awards to ranks below this are usually for a high degree of gallantry just short of deserving the Victoria Cross.
A bar is awarded for an act which would have earned the order in the first place. The bar is plain gold with an Imperial Crown in the centre. The year of the award is engraved on the reverse. A silver rosette on the ribbon alone is worn in undress uniform.
Information from http://www.vvaa.org.au/ord-ds.htm
“I have long wondered why he was not awarded a posthumous VC. Does anyone know why not?”
In fact the British establishment was … well… very British in being mean with recognition. I suppose that what Les Knight did in sacrifysing himself for the crew and the village was a shockingly common event – only about 1 Lancaster pilot in 4 survived the war. But still, if you take this selfless act on top of Les Knight’s achievement in breaching the Eder Dam, yes, you would have thought a VC was in order. That said, only the Dambusters officers were invited to Buckingham Palace after the raid, not the other ranks… I find that utterly appalling, while there are still three of the flightcrew alive it could (and should) still be rectified.
Stuart — Actually, all ranks who received decorations in the Dams Raid crews were invited to the investiture at Buckingham Palace on 22 June 1943. There are several pictures of Sgts Oancia, Webb, Chalmers and others outside the palace, and I know that Sgt Pulford in Gibson’s crew and Sgt Nicholson in Maltby’s crew were also present. If you look at the lists of those who were decorated, you will see that all the pilots, bomb aimers and navigators who dropped their bombs and got back safely were decorated, irrespective of whether they were officers or NCOs. On top of that, all of Gibson’s crew were decorated (which is understandable) and also the wireless operator and gunners (but not the flight engineer) from Townsend’s crew (which is something of an anomaly). Of the three Damubusters still with us, I am glad to say that George (Johnnie) Johnson, the bomb aimer in McCarthy’s crew, did get the DFM. I hope this clears up a few points.
Hello Charles, Thank you for letting me know, I heard from Fred Sutherland’s friend, (who asked that I sign his present to Fred) that Fred had told him that only officers were invited. Doubtless this info’ went wrong along the way somewhere, It does seem from your message though that the gunners were not included among the crew who dropped their bombs and got back safely being decorated? As Fred Sutherland was Les Knight’s front gunner and it was they that breached the Eder Dam, it seems a bit sad. Have I got that right Charles? Maybe that was what Fred Sutherland mentioned or maybe his friend just got it wrong..
Anyway, thanks for the correction, and please excuse me for spreading disinformation in my first post (or any post for that matter).
Stuart
I am Hans Dekker and I live a hundred meters in distance from the grave of Les Knight in Den Ham in Holland. I have several pictures of the grave and of the monument near the crashplace.
I wrote some articles in our historical magazine concerning the crash of the lancaster and what happened with the crew.
Hello Hans, Les Knight was a dear friend and sporting collegue of my father who passed away in 1978. He often talked about Les and I remember visiting his father when I was a young child. I would appreciate any pictures or articles about Les or links to any information.
Thank you
David G.. Friend
Hallo David Friend,
Thaks for your reaction concerning Les Knight.
Les Knight is burried about 100 yards from my house on the local cemetary.
If you want I can provide you of a lot of information about Les Knight and the lancasters. I have written a few articles in the local history-magazine about this subject.
I met also members of the English Lincoln Lancaster Association, who visited the spots concerning the Dambuster activities, for instance in Germany
Last year I met A cousin of Les who visited Europe and visited the grave of Les. He came from Australia and livesin the neigbourhood of Melbourne.
Give me your emailadres and I can send you much information concerning this subject.
Greetings from the east of Holland near the German frontier Hans Dekker Den Ham Holland. Don’t mind my English from 50 years ago. I am 72 now.
Hello Hans, thank you for your reply. I have found some information but would appreciate anything that you have. My email is dgf244@yahoo.com.au. I was not aware of the full circumstances of Les Knights heroic death. thank you
David
You should all be aware that someone is selling bits of metal on ebay, claiming that they came of this plane and blatantly using pictures and word for word text directly ripped from this site. This is an insult to Leslie Gordon Knight and the Dambusters.
Oh dear, grave robbers at it again. some people are plundering my father’s Lancaster crash site too.