Robert Sinclair Knox, (2 March 1881 – 25 January 1963) was an officer in the

Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers The Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers was an Irish line infantry regiment of the British Army in existence from 1881 until 1968. The regiment was formed in 1881 by the amalgamation of the 27th (Inniskilling) Regiment of Foot and the 108th Regiment o ...

in the First World War. He was one of seven British officers to be awarded the

Distinguished Service Order The Distinguished Service Order (DSO) is a military decoration of the United Kingdom, as well as formerly of other parts of the Commonwealth, awarded for meritorious or distinguished service by officers of the armed forces during wartime, typ ...

(DSO) four times during the conflict.

Early life

Knox was born near

Coleraine Coleraine ( ; from ga, Cúil Rathain , 'nook of the ferns'Flanaghan, Deirdre & Laurence; ''Irish Place Names'', page 194. Gill & Macmillan, 2002. ) is a town and civil parish near the mouth of the River Bann in County Londonderry, Northern I ...

County Antrim County Antrim (named after the town of Antrim, ) is one of six counties of Northern Ireland and one of the thirty-two counties of Ireland. Adjoined to the north-east shore of Lough Neagh, the county covers an area of and has a population o ...

, the son of William John Knox and Nancy MacAfee. After being educated in

Ballymoney Ballymoney ( ga, Baile Monaidh , meaning 'townland of the moor') is a small town and civil parish in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. It is within the Causeway Coast and Glens Borough Council area. The civil parish of Ballymoney is situated in ...

, he worked in Coleraine. He was an

Ulster Ulster (; ga, Ulaidh or ''Cúige Uladh'' ; sco, label= Ulster Scots, Ulstèr or ''Ulster'') is one of the four traditional Irish provinces. It is made up of nine counties: six of these constitute Northern Ireland (a part of the United King ...

man associated with the North Derry Regiment of the

Ulster Volunteers The Ulster Volunteers was an Irish unionist, loyalist paramilitary organisation founded in 1912 to block domestic self-government ("Home Rule") for Ireland, which was then part of the United Kingdom. The Ulster Volunteers were based in the ...

. Knox married Ivy Lynch.

First World War

When the First World War broke out, Knox volunteered to serve in the 10th Battalion of the

(the Derry Volunteers), formed with other Irish volunteers into the 109th Brigade of the

36th (Ulster) Division The 36th (Ulster) Division was an infantry division of the British Army, part of Lord Kitchener's New Army, formed in September 1914. Originally called the ''Ulster Division'', it was made up of mainly members of the Ulster Volunteer Force, wh ...

. He arrived in France in October 1915 and Knox became major in June 1916 Knox's

(DSO) was gazetted on 1 January 1917. He was also wounded, and

Mentioned in Despatches To be mentioned in dispatches (or despatches, MiD) describes a member of the armed forces whose name appears in an official report written by a superior officer and sent to the high command, in which their gallant or meritorious action in the face ...

. He saw action at the

Third Battle of Ypres The Third Battle of Ypres (german: link=no, Dritte Flandernschlacht; french: link=no, Troisième Bataille des Flandres; nl, Derde Slag om Ieper), also known as the Battle of Passchendaele (), was a campaign of the First World War, fought by t ...

and the Battle of Cambrai. He was awarded the first

Bar Bar or BAR may refer to: Food and drink * Bar (establishment), selling alcoholic beverages * Candy bar * Chocolate bar Science and technology * Bar (river morphology), a deposit of sediment * Bar (tropical cyclone), a layer of cloud * Bar (u ...

to his DSO on 18 February 1918. with the citation published on 16 July 1918 Knox commanded the 10th (Service) Battalion of the Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers in 1917, and then the 9th Battalion in 1918. The 10th (Derry) and 11th (Donegal and Fermanagh) Battalions of the Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers were disbanded in February 1918 and the officers and men were absorbed into the 1st and 2nd Battalions. Both joined the 9th (Tyrone) Battalion in the 109th Brigade. The Brigade faced the German spring offensive near Saint-Quentin on 21 March 1918, suffering heavy casualties, and was subsequently formed into a composite battalion commanded by Major Knox. He received a second Bar to his DSO, gazetted on 13 September 1918. Knox took command of the 9th Battalion in April 1918, and a third Bar to his DSO was gazetted on 7 March 1919. Two other officers were awarded a third bar at the same time,

Archibald Walter Buckle Commander Archibald Walter Buckle, (16 February 1889 – 6 May 1927) was a school teacher who served as an officer in the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve (RNVR) in the First World War. He commanded the Anson Battalion in the 63rd (Royal Naval) ...

and W.R.A. Dawson. Knox was demobilised in February 1919, retaining the rank of

lieutenant colonel Lieutenant colonel ( , ) is a rank of commissioned officers in the armies, most marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel. Several police forces in the United States use the rank of lieutenant colone ...

. An award of the French

Croix de guerre The ''Croix de Guerre'' (, ''Cross of War'') is a military decoration of France. It was first created in 1915 and consists of a square-cross medal on two crossed swords, hanging from a ribbon with various degree pins. The decoration was first awa ...

was gazetted on 23 June 1919.

Later life

Knox became Deputy Lieutenant for

County Londonderry County Londonderry ( Ulster-Scots: ''Coontie Lunnonderrie''), also known as County Derry ( ga, Contae Dhoire), is one of the six counties of Northern Ireland, one of the thirty two counties of Ireland and one of the nine counties of Ulster. B ...

in August 1938. He was also chairman of the Coleraine harbour commissioners, and a director at Hugh T Barrie, a business which sold and exported potatoes and other produce. He served as a lieutenant colonel in the

Royal Engineers The Corps of Royal Engineers, usually called the Royal Engineers (RE), and commonly known as the ''Sappers'', is a corps of the British Army. It provides military engineering and other technical support to the British Armed Forces and is heade ...

in Second World War, finally retiring in 1949. Knox's medal group was sold at Spink and Son in December 1997.

References

External links

The Exceptional Great War Three Bar D.S.O. Group of Five to Lieutenant Colonel R.S. Knox 9th and 10th Battalions Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers
Spink and Son, 17 December 1997]
Robert Sinclair Knox
Cooke family history
Image
Battle of the Somme – Memorabilia, BBC Northern Ireland * {{DEFAULTSORT:Knox, Robert Sinclair 1881 births 1963 deaths British Army personnel of World War I Companions of the Distinguished Service Order Deputy Lieutenants of Londonderry Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers officers Recipients of the Croix de Guerre 1914–1918 (France)