The Last Post Ceremony commemorating the service of (15220) Private Robert Gordon Duncan Knox, No. 14 Australian General Hospital, First World War.

The Last Post Ceremony is presented in the Commemorative area of the Australian War Memorial each day. The ceremony commemorates more than 102,000 Australians who have given their lives in war and other operations and whose names are recorded on the Roll of Honour. At each ceremony the story behind one of the names on the Roll of Honour is told. Hosted by Craig Berelle, the story for this day was on (15220) Private Robert Gordon Duncan Knox, No. 14 Australian General Hospital, First World War.

15220 Private Robert Gordon Duncan Knox, No. 14 Australian General Hospital
Murdered 25 December 1916

Today we remember and pay tribute to Private Robert Gordon Duncan Knox.

Robert Knox, known as Gordon, was born in 1892, one of 11 children of James and Mary Knox of Benalla. James served as secretary to the Benalla Shire Council for nearly 50 years, while his family grew up in the district. They were well known in Benalla, and Gordon went on to work as a clerk in the Bank of New South Wales.

Gordon Knox enlisted in the medical services in September 1915. His sister Hilda had enlisted in the Australian Army Nursing Service the previous year. She had already been to Egypt to work in the No. 1 Australian General Hospital at Heliopolis, and returned to Australia with a ship-load of wounded men. The siblings left Australia together on the troopship Karoola in August 1916, with the No. 14 Australian General Hospital. They arrived at Suez on the 20th of September, and moved to Abbassia to establish the hospital.

On 26 December 1916, at about 5.15 pm, Private Knox left the hospital in company with Private Darcy. Both had passes for that evening, and went to the tram line together. Knox caught the tram to Cairo, but Darcy waited for the Heliopolis tram. Gordon Knox was never seen alive again.

On 8 January, nearly two weeks after Knox went missing, his body was discovered in the River Nile at Benha. The following day Gordon’s sister Hilda sent a cablegram to their parents saying “Gordon drowned, accident, writing”. This was followed by a letter from Lieutenant Colonel Thwaites, saying “I cannot tell you how very sorry I am to address you on the subject of your son’s death … There is an unfortunate element of mystery surrounding the whole affair, which makes it sadder still to all of us. We don’t quite know what happened. He went on a few hours’ leave to Cairo, and just never returned. His body was found in the Nile a fortnight later.”

A post mortem revealed that Gordon Knox’s death was no accident. He had sustained a heavy blow to the back of the head, and was almost certainly unconscious when he hit the water and drowned. He also appeared to have been robbed.

Thwaites continued, “Nothing further can be discovered, and probably nothing ever will be. This is a strange country… the population is very mixed, and includes some very hostile elements. On the other hand, the boy’s habits while here have been beyond reproach. So the conclusion one is forced to is that he met his sad end in a way which was by no means his own fault, but at the hands of the King’s enemies, and, in this way, died for the cause for which he volunteered.”

Private Gordon Knox was buried in a cemetery in Benha, not far from where his body was found, with a moving and well-attended burial service. Even though Sister Hilda Knox managed to attend to her duties throughout this period, it was decided to send her to England after the funeral. She died of meningitis the following year.

Knox was later reinterred in the Tel-el-Kebir War Memorial Cemetery, where he lies today beneath the words “Dearly beloved son of James and Mary Isabella Knox of Benalla Victoria.” He was 24 years old.

His name is listed on the Roll of Honour on my right, among almost 62,000 Australians who died while serving in the First World War.

This is but one of the many stories of service and sacrifice told here at the Australian War Memorial. We now remember Private Robert Gordon Duncan Knox, who gave his life for us, for our freedoms, and in the hope of a better world.

Meleah Hampton
Historian, Military History Section