Saddle bag : Captain R W Knights, Citizen's Military Forces light horse regiments

Large rectangular pigskin saddlebag with a shaped cover fastened to the body of the bag with a single strap and brass buckle. Both the cover and body of the bag are lined with green waterproof canvas. The back of the bag has a pair of leather straps with brass buckles (facing into the bag) so that it can be attached to dees on the back of the saddle. A single brass loop is sewn to the proper left of the bag bearing a staying strap that holds the bag to the centre girth point on the off side of the horse, to prevent it swinging when the horse is moving.

This saddle bag was used to carry papers by Lieutenant Robert William Knights, a regular army officer, while serving in the Australian Staff Corps as adjutant to various light horse regiments in the Citizen's Military Force between 1933 and 1939. Knights was born in Canberra, ACT in 1912 and undertook officer training at the Royal Military College (RMC), Duntroon. On the outbreak of the Second World War he enlisted in the Second AIF on 13 October 1939. He was assigned the service number VX78 and was posted to North Africa as a captain with 2/7 Battalion. He was promoted to major at the end of 1941. In 1942 he transferred to 1 Australia Corps in Syria, acting as a lieutenant colonel, before returning to work at the Allied Land Forces Headquarters in Melbourne. After the war Knights was placed in charge of administration at RMC between 1945 and 1947. Between 1950 and 1951 he was seconded to the Department of Defence, before serving as Director of Personnel Administration at Army Headquarters until 1954. He commanded the 3rd National Service Training Brigade in Victoria between 1954 and 1956. Between 1958 and 1960 he served as head of the Joint Services Staff at Australia House in London, before returning to Australia to take up a position as Commandant of RMC. Knights served as Chairman of the Joint Military Planning Committee at the Department of Defence from 1962 to 1963, then as Quartermaster-General and Third Member of the Military Board from 1963 to 1966. His final posting was as General Officer Commanding Southern Command. Knights retired in 1969 with the rank of major general.