11/14/2024
Locksley McKnight was once one of the most promising young men in New Brunswick. A star sportsman and high achieving academic student, he moved to Alberta to work as a school principal and pursue a doctorate in Education. Following the outbreak of war, he left everything including his promising future to serve his country. He was Killed in Action on the Somme two months after arriving in France.
In a letter to Locksley McKnights parents, a fellow 49th Battalion officer explained the circumstances behind his death in action.
"At the last moment, he, along with some other officers, was selected to remain behind as a reserve. Next afternoon, when they learned at headquarters that four out of five officers of "D" Company were wounded, and that I was the only officer left and had been slightly wounded, they sent Locksley and another officer to help me out. We were in a somewhat isolated position and they had to come across an open space for a short distance. They had just started, when a German machine gun opened on them, killing them both."
After the war, a portrait of the late officer was commissioned by the school where he was the principal where it was displayed prominently for many years as a memorial to Locksley McKnight. Today, the portrait can be found at the Historic McKay Avenue School in Edmonton, Alberta.
