See Harold and Pearl's Marriage Certificate


Harold and Pearl were married at St. Michaels Church, Basingstoke, Hampshire, England.

The marriage of Pearl and Harold was witnessed by E W Wells and L M Nash (Pearl's uncle Eddy and her mother).

This picture was taken in the grounds of St Michael's Church, Basingstoke. Pearl's father died when she was in her teens so she was given away by her uncle Eddy Wells. The best man was Pearl's brother Don, and the bridesmaid was her sister Dorrie.
Back Row, left to right:
George Levi KNIBBS, Harold George KNIBBS, Donald William Henry NASH, Edward WELLS
Front Row, left to right:
Lily May NASH, Pearl Louisa Alice (Nash) KNIBBS, Dorothea NASH, Evelyn KNIBBS
Click image to see larger version.

I just had to add this photograph. It was sent to Harold by Pearl after he was taken prisoner of war and was hand painted by one of his fellow POW's in Italy for the price of 10 cigarettes. Click to see the larger image.

See Harold's Birth Certificate

See Harold's Death Certificate

Please visit my Notable KNIBBS Page for Harold

Harold was a keen violinist in his teens. He helped to establish the school orchestra at Fairfields school in Basingstoke as well as playing first violin for the Basingstoke Symphony Orchestra until the outbreak of WWII. On leaving school he worked in a shoe shop in Basingstoke for a short time and then for Scutter's bakery in Basingstoke. In the photo below he can be seen sitting on the bonnet of the Scutter's delivery van (click to enlarge)

He was also a keen motorcyclist and claims that there was nothing like mixing dough by hand to remove oil from his hands after a weekend overhauling the motorbike!.

Despite this, when he left the employ of George Scutter, he still received
a glowing reference
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Harold was a very keen cricketer and played cricket for the Co-op Bakery where he worked for some time. One of his claims to fame was that he knew and grew up with John Arlott, the world famous cricket commentator. My wife had the pleasure of meeting John Arlott in the 1970's. She mentioned Harold to him and he remembered him well from their days growing up in Basingstoke, Hampshire. Harold was over the moon to think that John Arlott remembered him after all those years.
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Harold volunteered to join the army at the outset of WWII and served overseas as a Tank Driver Mechanic, driving Churchill tanks in the Royal Armored Corps. (Click image for larger version).

He enlisted at Farnborough, Hampshire, England on 27th June 1940, and it is recorded in has papers that he was 5' 11�", 142 lbs, 35" chest, with Fresh Complexion, Auburn Hair and Grey Eyes. His service number was 7912314

Please visit Harold's Military service page

He was captured in Tripoli in about June 1941 and despite several escape attempts, remained a prisoner in Germany and Italy for the remainder of the war.

It was reported in The Times Newspaper on Monday 29th September 1941 that the following members of the Royal Armoured Corps (Royal Tank Regiment) has been made Prisoners of War:
Greenwell, w.s./Lieut. W.N.
Johnstone, T/Capt. R.S.V.
Kempton, Sec. Lt. J.A.
Caselton, Tpr. E.A.
Collins, Tpr. E.C.
Goddard, Tpr. F.
Knibbs, Tpr. H.G.
Mitchell, Tpr. A.J.
Kennison, Cpl. F.
Snelgrove, Tpr. J.H.
Templeman, Tpr. H.G.
Watson, Tpr. R.B.
Whenday, Tpr. R.J.

See Copy of Times Article

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Whilst I understand from his sister Winifred that he suffered quite badly as a prisoner of war, if he ever talked of his experiences it was to laugh at some of the lighter moments he encountered. One such occasion was once, during an escape attempt at night, he dived into what he believed to be a haystack to avoid a German patrol. He quickly discovered that instead of the haystack he was expecting, he had dived into a manure heap. That was one occasion when he was more than pleased to be recaptured.

In a second escape attempt, this time by tunnelling under the perimeter fence, he and his colleagues misjudged the direction they were digging. Instead of ending up in open fields, they tunnelled into the cellar of a large building that was nearby. On discovering a large stock of good wine and family treasures, they quickly forgot about the escape attempt, looted the treasures, had a huge party and then went back along the tunnel into the camp. Harold came away with two silver knives, forks and spoons and a large hand embroidered linen tablecloth. He smuggled these back into England when he was repatriated and I remember him using the cutlery when I was a child. Unfortunately, he sold the cutlery when he was in his 80's, but the tablecloth is now with his daughter Janet.

Life in the prison camps was very hard but Harold always said that compared with life in the Russian quarters at some of the German camps where he was imprisoned, life for the British prisoners was easy.

Initailly he was held captive in two Italian camps at Campo Concentramento Prigionieri di Guerra No.'s 59 at Savigliano and PG.73. After about September 1943, he was transferred to Stalag IVB at M�hlberg, Germany which was the biggest of the prison camps. He was Prisoner of War No.267237 in Stalag IVB. Jack Stoneley's novel "Jenny's War" is based around Stalag IVB. The novel is based on the true story of Florence Barrington, the English wife of a Luftwaffe pilot who managed to smuggle herself into Stalag IVB where her son (an RAF pilot) was imprisoned after being shot down over Germany. Whilst Harold had no first hand knowledge of this at the time, reading the novel brought back memories of events at the camp which he then realised were related to Florence being hidden there amongst the prisoners.
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After the war, he worked for Fred Smith's in Basingstoke as an Agricultural Engineer until December 1962 when the Company was taken over by the Southern Counties Agricultural Trading Society (SCATS). SCATS then moved him to Newport on the Isle of Wight where he became the Sales and Services Manager at their Depot. Harold's heart remained in Basingstoke and he never really settled on the Island.

The above appeared in the SCATS internal newsletter when they took over Fred Smith (Basingstoke) Ltd at the end of 1962.
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He moved to Liphook in Hampshire due to ill health in September 1998 and died ten months later at his son's home in Bramshott, Hampshire.


His funeral service was held at the Church of St. Mary the Virgin, Bramshott, Hampshire, England.

He was well known and will be remembered by those who knew him for his wicked sense of humor.
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Harold can be seen in the World Book of Knibbs from the 1980's, living above at 11 Avondale Road,
Newport, Isle of Wight PO30 1HE, England. (Click image for a larger version).
When he moved to the Isle of Wight, SCATS provided temporary accommodation at 20 Cypress Road, Newport (which was the road running parallel to Avondale Road) until he could find somewhere to live. His wife Pearl fell in love with this house as soon as she saw it.

Pearl aged about 2 years in 1919 (click to enlarge)
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See Pearl's Birth Certificate

See Pearl's Death Certificate

Pearl aged 23 years on 18th July, 1940. Click image for larger version.

Pearl's father died in a tragic accident when she was just 15 years old. She worked as a shop assistant for Lanhams in Basingstoke, and for a while, Pearl's income from Lanham's was the only income into the family of her mother, two brothers and a younger sister.
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At some point before she married, Pearl was a Sunday School teacher in Basingstoke.
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During the war years, she worked at Smith's in Basingstoke painting the luminous dials onto the equipment used in military aircraft. She once told me that when walking home from Smith's in the dark, the workers' eyelids all glowed where the luminous dust from the dials had settled on their lashes. No doubt the Health & Safety experts of today would be horrified.
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Pearl took time out from work whilst her three children were young. When they reached their teens she started work again as a shop assistant and for a short while as a canteen assistant for Marks & Spencer in Basingstoke. After she and Harold moved to the Isle of Wight, she took a job as a shop assistant working for Duke's Hardware store in Newport. She later took a job working for the Inland Revenue at their Newport offices.
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Shortly after her retirement, she was diagnosed as having breast cancer which, despite treatment, was the cause of her death some four years later.
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Pearl was artistic and spent a great deal of her time knitting or sewing. In her younger years she was a very good seamstress and did much knitting and sewing for friends and neighbours to earn a little extra cash. After her retirement her knitting and sewing skills were put to good use making toys and knick-knacks for charity sales, despite being seriously ill with cancer.