Brother Bosch: An Airman's Escape from Germany

Gerald Featherston Knight served in the Royal Flying Corps, and was trained as a pilot. In 1916 he was transferred to No.12 Squadron on the Western Front, in France, where he flew B.E.2c aircraft in both the reconnaissance and bombing roles. On 9 November 1916, during an air raid carried out on an ammunition dump at Vraucourt, his aircraft was intercepted and shot down behind enemy lines, where he was captured. He remained a captive in Germany for the next nine months, before escaping from a camp near Hanover and making his way on foot to neutral Holland, from where he was repatriated to England. Gerald Knight wrote and published his memoir, Brother Bosch, in early 1919, detailing his time as a captive and his subsequent adventures upon escaping. He died on 30 October 1919 after a short illness, aged just 25, and was posthumously awarded the Military Cross, for his efforts as a prisoner of war.