George, his wife Rosa and daughter Ethel appear in the 1901 census for England & Wales living at School Road, Kidlington, Oxfordshire:
George W KNIBBS 26
Rosa C KNIBBS 25
Ethel R M KNIBBS 2

Living with them as a boarder was George Margrave age 16, Grocers Clerk and assistant from Lichfield Staffordshire.

Rose can be seen aged 5, living at High Street Kidlington with her parents and siblings in 1881:
William MORTON Head M Male 29 Kidlington, Oxford, England Ag Lab
Jane MORTON Wife M Female 25 Kidlington, Oxford, England
Sarah MORTON Daur Female 6 Kidlington, Oxford, England Scholar
Rose MORTON Daur Female 5 Kidlington, Oxford, England Scholar
Henry MORTON Son Male 3 Kidlington, Oxford, England

Ethel died at the Radcliffe Infirmary, Oxford.

Alfred joned the Royal Navy on 27 Aprl 1917 when he was just over 15 years of age. His service number was J70428. He was stationed at HMS Ganges until 1 May 1918 and from there he went to Pembroke where he joined HMS Astraea on 27 May 1918. His Naval Record shows that he died on 11 October 1918 from Influenza.

Had he not died, he was committed to serve in the Royal Navy from 15 January 1920 for 12 years.

When he joined, it was recorded that he was 5'9" tall, 36" chest, with light brown hight, blue eyes with a fair and freckled complexion. He had a scar on the right side of his chin. It was also recorded that he was of Good Character and Satisfactory Ability.


See Alfred's Royal Naval Service Record
__________

In Memory of
Boy A G W KNIBBS
J/70428, H.M.S. "Astraea.", Royal Navy
who died on 11 October 1918
Boy KNIBBS

(click to enlarge)
Remembered with honour
SIMON'S TOWN (DIDO VALLEY) CEMETERY

Cape Town and nearby Simon's Town were the scene of massive shipping movements (including hospital ships) during both World Wars. Simon's Town (Dido Valley) Cemetery contains 77 burials of the First World War and 106 from the Second World War, one of which is unidentified. Most of the burials are of naval personnel.

Sadly, I've been able to find out very little about HMS Astraea (above - click to enlarge). She was a cruiser, built in 1894 by Devonport Dockyard and sailed under the name of Astraea until 1920. She was anchored in Table Bay off Cape Town for some time in 1918. In 1921, she was renamed HMS Vivid and sailed under that name for just one year. From what I can tell, Astraea was part of the Cape Squadron from about 1913 along with HM Ships Hyacinth and Pegasus.

I am indebted to Colyn Brookes, a Volunteer on the British War Memorial Project in South Africa who gave me the photograph of Alfred's grave at the Dido Cemetery in Simonstown. Colyn also told me that there are other graves of seamen from the same vessel, all dying in October 1918 when the Spanish flu epidemic hit South Africa. The 1918 epidemic was responsible for some 20 million deaths world-wide.

Those I've managed to identify from HMS Astraea,who also died from the same epidemic:
Dollar T, Seaman, 8 Oct 1918
Holmes Edmond, Lieutenant, 11 Oct 1918
Keeble A A, Petty Officer Stoker, 14 Oct 1918
Kingaby H S, Petty Officer, 16 Oct 1918
Lauder H, Able Seaman, 9 Oct 1918
Lock J H, Able Seaman, 12 Oct 1918, age 21 from Raith Park, Cardiff, Wales
Mackbeth Leonard Arthur, Stoker 1st Class, 5 Oct 1918, age 19 from Greenwich, London
Perkins E W, Petty Officer, 14 Oct 1918
Wansell A, Leading Stoker, 9 Oct 1918
Washington G, Seaman, 9 Oct 1918

Visit South Africa War Graves Project web site

Jane and George were twins who died as infants

George and Jane were twins who died as infants