Battleground in France holds special meaning
On the other side of the world is a French town stamped with New Zealand history. In 1918, New Zealand troops liberated the town of Le Quesnoy from German occupation. One hundred years later, the family of veteran Joseph James Knight are going over to pay their respects.
Knight’s daughter, Josie KnightKaravasil, had always known her father served in World War I, but didn’t have many details about his time in the armed forces.
‘‘The thing is, he didn’t speak about the war much,’’ she said. ‘‘The only time I remember really asking him questions was when the BBC brought out a series called The Great War. We would sit and watch it and sometimes he was crying.’’
Knight joined the war late: he was still in his teens for most of the war and signed up in 1917. He trained at Trentham Military Camp before catching a troop ship to the other side of the world.
In February 1918, he began a diary. Bouncing from the mundane – ‘‘sea calm, weather good, no land in sight’’ – to convoy ships being blown up by torpedoes, it charts his journey to England, arriving on August 7, 1918. From there, he was he shipped out to France and Le Quesnoy, a small fortress town in the northeast.
Knight’s diary gave his daughter, KnightKaravasil, and her family an insight into a hidden part of their own history.
Now three of his grandchildren are travelling to Le Quesnoy for the 100th anniversary of its liberation from German forces on November 4, 1918.
His granddaughter Lynda Knight-de Blois is in Europe ahead of the anniversary and will be joined by her sister, Libby Schumacher-Knight, and her brother, Chris Knight, and his partner.
‘‘I think it’s just really special to be able to reconnect with my grandfather,’’ Knight-de Blois said. ‘‘We’ve always been aware that New Zealanders are respected and celebrated in Le Quesnoy so it’ll be really interesting to connect with the people there.’’
New Zealand forces took part in their last major action at the tail-end of World War I in Le Quesnoy which had been under German control since 1914.
Several battalions of the 3rd New Zealand Rifle Brigade were sent to reclaim the town. Knight was in the 4th battalion – charged with climbing the ladder into the town.
German forces quickly surrendered as the Kiwi troops entered the town.
New Zealand’s part in the history of the French town is stamped all over it: from a street named after Helen Clark to memorials of fallen Kiwi soldiers.
Knight lived to return to New Zealand and raise a family. He died in January 1968. He was buried in Karori Cemetery, alongside other war veterans.
‘‘We’ve always been aware that New Zealanders are respected and celebrated in Le Quesnoy so it’ll be really interesting to connect with the people there.’’
Linda Knight-de Blois