Identity area
Type of entity
Person
Authorized form of name
Knight, Talbot
Parallel form(s) of name
Standardized form(s) of name according to other rules
Other form(s) of name
Identifiers for corporate bodies
Description area
Dates of existence
1917-1999
History
Born in Ardley, Alberta in 1917 and raised in England, Talbot Knight joined the Royal Air Force in 1933 and after a 3 year apprenticeship was posted to Egypt. In World War Two he was assigned as a Corporal to 242 Fighter Squadron with other Canadians living in Britain. Narrowly escaping capture at Dunkirque and LeMans, Flight Sergeant Talbot was finally captured by the Japanese in 1942 and spent 3 years in Japanese prison camps in Malaya, Java, and the Molucca Islands. On 21 August 1945 he was released from prison and on 17 September flown out to Calcutta on an American Skymaster. A week later he returned to England on a Royal Air Force Dakota. Following the War Talbot was promoted to Squadron Leader within the Special Air Service and then appointed Chief Technical Officer of the Royal Air Force. He died in 1999.