A Soldier, a Loaf, and the Will to Survive...
22nd April 2025
The medals of Walter F. Knight tell a story of duty, endurance, and sacrifice. The War Medal and Victory Medal mark his service in the Great War, while the Territorial Force War Medal, awarded only to those who had enlisted before 1914, recognises his early commitment. But alongside these symbols of honour lies something far more personal. A hardened corner of prisoner-of-war bread, a stark reminder of struggle beyond the battlefield.
Amidst the cold, barbed-wire confines of a German prisoner-of-war camp, food was scarce, hunger was constant, and hope was a lifeline. For Sapper Walter F. Knight, captured in June 1918, every meal was a battle of its own. A hardened piece of bread, coarse, dry, barely edible. Each bite was a fight against hunger. And yet, when he returned home in 1919, he kept a piece of it. A reminder of hardship, a token of resilience, a testament to survival. That small, unassuming fragment carries a soldier’s story. One of endurance, perseverance, and the unbreakable human spirit.
More than a century later, that piece of bread remains. A link to the past, a symbol of resilience, and a soldier’s quiet triumph over suffering.
Now, this slice of history, long kept in the shadows of time, finds its way to the light once more. The story of Walter F. Knight’s survival. Etched into the very crumbs of this hardened bread, will be up for auction at Lawrences Auctioneers in Crewkerne. (Lot 579, estimated at £80-150). On May 14th and 15th, a new chapter begins, as the bread, along with his medals, will be offered to those who understand the weight of history and the quiet sacrifices of war.
A century of silence is about to speak once again.
