Robert Stanley KNILL

KNILL, Robert Stanley

    Service Number: 1538
    Enlisted: 6 March 1915, Keswick, SA
    Last Rank: Sergeant
    Last Unit: 27th Infantry Battalion
    Born: Prospect, South Australia, Australia, 20 May 1894
    Home Town: Kirkcaldy, South Australia
    Schooling: North Adelaide Public School, Nailsworth Primary School, South Australia
    Occupation: Porter
    Died: Died of wounds, France, 2 September 1918, aged 24 years
    Cemetery: Fouquescourt British Cemetery, France
    III BB 9
    Memorials: Adelaide National War Memorial, Adelaide South Australian Railways WW1 & WW2 Honour Boards, Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour, Henley Beach Council Fallen WW1 & WW2 Honour Board, Henley Beach Council WW1 Service Roll, Keswick Prospect Highbury Street Methodist Sunday School Old Scholars Roll of Honour, Keswick Prospect Methodist Sunday School Honour Board WW1, Nailsworth Primary School Great War Roll of Honour, North Adelaide Christ Church Roll of Honour, North Adelaide Christ Church Honour Board
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    World War 1 Service

    6 Mar 1915: Enlisted AIF WW1, Corporal, 1538, 27th Infantry Battalion, Keswick, SA
    6 Mar 1915: Enlisted AIF WW1, Corporal, 1538, 27 Infantry Battalion AMF, Private Robert Stanley Knill enlisted in the AIF at the age of 20, with the written consent of his father George Knill. "I hereby give my consent for my son R. S. Knill joining the military forces now being organised."
    31 May 1915: Involvement Corporal, 1538, 27th Infantry Battalion, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '15' embarkation_place: Adelaide embarkation_ship: HMAT Geelong embarkation_ship_number: A2 public_note: ''
    31 May 1915: Embarked Corporal, 1538, 27th Infantry Battalion, HMAT Geelong, Adelaide
    4 Sep 1915: Involvement AIF WW1, Corporal, 1538, 27th Infantry Battalion, ANZAC / Gallipoli, Sergeant Robert Stanley Knill joined the MEF Forces at Gallipoli on 4/9/1915 and remained until 26/11/1915 when he was admitted to the No. 3 Auxiliary Hospital in Heliopolis, suffering from jaundice.
    28 Jan 1916: Promoted AIF WW1, Sergeant, 27th Infantry Battalion
    16 Mar 1916: Involvement AIF WW1, Sergeant, 1538, 27th Infantry Battalion, Sergeant Knill travelled with his company to the northern extremity of France near the Belgian border around the Armentieres sector Known colloquially as "The Nursery", troops new to the Front were conditioned to Trench Warfare, albeit in a relatively quiet sector of the Front.
    16 Mar 1916: Embarked AIF WW1, Sergeant, 1538, 27th Infantry Battalion, Sergeant Knill embarked from Alexandria, Egypt for Marseilles, France.
    30 Apr 1916: Involvement AIF WW1, Sergeant, 1538, 27th Infantry Battalion, On 30/4/1916, Sergeant Robert Stanley Knill was admitted to the 6th Casualty Clearing Station suffering from Pleurisy. Transferred to No. 26 General Hospital in Etaples on 2/6/1916, he then embarked from Calais, France to England on HS (Hospital Ship) Brighton on 14/6/1916. Admitted to the 1st Auxiliary Hospital Sergeant Knill remained under the care of medical staff until being transferred to Woodcut Park Convalescent Hospital on 30/5/1916. Transferred to No.1 Command Depot, Perham Downs, for drill instruction on 11/9/1916, an infected wound on his right hand, would once again see him admitted to hospital on 3/10/1916. Discharged from Horton War Hospital London, he was given furlough (leave) on 27/10/1916, before returning to No. 1 C.D. as instructed. On 10/4/1917 Sergeant Knill would travel by train to No. 4 C.D. in Wareham, UK where he would remain until 27/02/1918.
    27 Feb 1918: Involvement AIF WW1, Sergeant, 1538, 27th Infantry Battalion, On 27/2/1918, Sergeant Knill was transferred to the O/S Tng Bde (Overseas Training Brigade) at Longbridge Deverill, England. He would train here until once again fit for service, returning to the Front on 7/3/1918.
    7 Mar 1918: Involvement AIF WW1, Sergeant, 1538, 27th Infantry Battalion, Sailing from Southampton, UK to Havre, France on 7/3/1918, Sergeant Knill returned to the front in Belgium, and rejoined the 27th Infantry Battalion on 12/3/1918.
    21 Mar 1918: Involvement AIF WW1, Sergeant, 1538, 27th Infantry Battalion, German Spring Offensive 1918, Sergeant Knill and the 27th Infantry Battalion took part in the German Spring Offensive, a last gasp effort by the Germans to bring an end to the war on their terms, before the US Army joined the war in April 1918.
    1 May 1918: Involvement AIF WW1, Sergeant, 1538, 27th Infantry Battalion, Sergeant Knill and the 27th Infantry Battalion were involved in the defence of Amiens, France. On 8/5/1918, the Battalion received congratulations from Field Marshal Sir Douglas Haig, who thanked them for “. . . [their] gallant conduct & magnificent achievment (sic). . . ”
    10 Jun 1918: Involvement AIF WW1, Sergeant, 1538, 27th Infantry Battalion, The 27th Infantry Battalion was involved in an attack which captured German front line trenches around Morlancourt. This action saw the destruction of a whole German battalion, and the capture of 325 prisoners. The battalion's achievements were not without cost: 400 men were killed. The attack on Morlancourt was an critical lead up to the more significant Battle of Hamel.
    4 Jul 1918: Involvement AIF WW1, Sergeant, 1538, 27th Infantry Battalion, Le Hamel - Blueprint for Victory, The 27th Infantry Battalion and Sergeant Knill took up position in the Villers Brettonueax in support of the attack taking place on Hamel. An entry in the battalion's War Diary, dated 3/6/1918, notes, "Owing to operations on our left, (Attack on HAMEL) "D"Coy. moved forward to support 25 A.I. Battalion, . . . "
    10 Jul 1918: Involvement AIF WW1, Sergeant, 1538, 27th Infantry Battalion, "Peaceful Penetration - Low-Cost, High-Gain Tactics on the Western Front", The battalion was involved in the capture of German trenches, surprising the enemy and taking prisoners, without loss of life. Named "Peaceful Penetration", such raids relied on the patrols infiltrating the German outposts, and approaching them from behind. The first trench was captured in 40 minutes, the second "very quickly". Such raids were so successful, the second attack on the Villers-Bretonneux Plateau, ordered by Field Marshal Haig on 11/7/1918 was barely in the planning stages when it was realised the area had already been captured by two brigades through peaceful penetration. This area, was of significant size, with a frontage of 4,500 yards (4,100 m), and a depth of 1,000 yards (910 m)).
    8 Aug 1918: Involvement AIF WW1, Sergeant, 1538, 27th Infantry Battalion, "The Last Hundred Days", The opening day of this offensive is described in the 27th Infantry Battalion's War Diary, noting it began at 12:30am. Sergeant Knill and his comrades at arms would eventually capture the stated objective known as "The Green Line" by 06:30am. The diary also notes that King George V was to inspect Australian troops at The Australian Corps HQ on the Western Front, and 4 men from the 27th Infantry Battalion were chosen as representatives, as part of a parade of those Australian who had taken part in the recent operations (The Battle of Amiens) on August 8-9 1918.
    27 Aug 1918: Involvement AIF WW1, Sergeant, 1538, 27th Infantry Battalion, Mont St Quentin / Peronne, The 27th Infantry Battalion was involved in several attacks during late August and early September in the Mont St Quentin area. The attack on 2/9/1918 was described, as "successful" in the unit's War Diary.
    2 Sep 1918: Involvement AIF WW1, Sergeant, 1538, 27th Infantry Battalion, Mont St Quentin / Peronne, Sergeant Robert Stanley Knill died as a result of wounds, sustained during the attack at Mont St Quentin on 2/9/1918. HIs service record states that he was admitted by the 6th Australian Field Ambulance, which described his wounds thus: "G.S.W. Pen Abdomen." Sergeant Knill died of gunshot wound/s that penetrated his abdomen the same day. He was buried at Cappy British Cemetery, 4.5 miles west of Peronne.
    2 Sep 1918: Involvement Sergeant, 1538, 27th Infantry Battalion, --- :awm_ww1_roll_of_honour_import: awm_service_number: 1538 awm_unit: 27 Battalion awm_rank: Sergeant awm_died_date: 1918-09-02

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    Biography contributed by Daryl Jones

    Son of Robert & Catherine KNILL, Military Road, South Henley Beach, SA

    Sergeant R. S. (Bob) Knill, of the 27th Battalion, has been killed in action somewhere in France. He was 21 years of age last May and was the fourth son of Mr. and Mrs. G. Knill, of Huntriss-street,  Torrensville. He enlisted in January, 1915, and served on Gallipoli Peninsula. He was transferred with the first of the Australians to France. He contracted pneumonia and was sent to England, and on his recovery went to Aldershot as an instructor. He also belonged to the No. 10 class of the Headquarters Gymnasium who performed befor the King and Queen and who were highly commended for their  soldierly appearance. Sergeant Knill had the honor of being one of the first Australians to win the cross swords. Previous to enlisting he was employed in the traffic department of the South Australian  Railways. He was at Bowden for a considerable time, and afterwards at Kilkenny. He will be missed by Port line travellers, with whom he was very popular.

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