The Prairie to Passchendaele

This is the story of one man's fight against the odds. Fred Knight was born in 1892. One of twelve, his was a tough childhood through hard times in rural Kent. Fred got by with quick wits, hard work and dreams of becoming a cowboy. And then at seventeen, broke with few prospects in England, Fred followed his dream. He borrowed money for his fare, left behind family, friends and everything he knew, for the savage winters and barely settled emptiness of Saskatchewan. It wasn't the cowboy fantasy of his boyhood; Fred had a debt to honour, life was hard. He earned the respect and friendship of the tough men and women of the scattered towns and farms. He grew to love the stark simplicity of the Canadian prairie. In WW1 Fred was with the 10th Canadian infantry on the Western Front. For his valour he was awarded the Military Medal but he paid a terrible price. He was severely wounded, eventually losing his right arm. Fred took his young wife and family to Winnipeg. He started again, qualified as an accountant - but his wounds did not heal. In constant pain, with frequent relapses, he was forced to leave Canada. In 1933 Fred arrived back in England with a family, little money and few prospects. But for Fred Knight that wasn't the end of it. In a few years he proved himself to be as tough and formidable in business as in all else. He prospered. At 72, when Parkinsonism had robbed him of the use of his one good hand, he had a device made so he could type with his head, and he wrote this: The story of a boy, who just wanted to be a cowboy.