St. Mary the Virgin Churchyard

William Knox Leet (1833-1898)

William Knox Leet was born in Dalkey, County Dublin on 3rd November 1833 to the Reverend Edward Patrick Leet and Sarah Knox. All seven of their children took the surname Knox Leet and their five sons, including William, eventually joined the Army. William was first commissioned into the 13th Light Infantry as an ensign on 4th July 1855, being promoted to Lieutenant on 1st February the following year. He first saw active service during the Indian Mutiny, when the 13th was sent to Calcutta. He served during the Central India and Trans-Gogra operations, and was mentioned in dispatches for his work at Almorah on 17th and 25th April 1858 and at Nugger on 29th April. He served as an Adjutant between 2nd August 1858 and 20th June 1864, and was also the Station Staff Officer at Dum-Dum in 1863.

Following this, he spent the next 11 years in England and Ireland. He married Charlotte Sherlock in April 1871 and their first son was born two years later. He was sent to South Africa in 1878, arriving on 14th May, and saw action in the Sekukini Campaign of the First Boer War in October that year. With the outbreak of the Zulu war that December, he became part of Column no.4 under Evelyn Wood; Wood put the then Major Knox Leet in command of a unit composed of disaffected Zulus called Wood’s Irregulars, who were prepared to fight King Cetewayo. Despite injuring his knee in a tug-of-war between the officers of the 13th and the 90th, Knox Leet insisted on commanding his men, riding his horse at the head of the Irregulars’ second battalion. At Hlobane Mountain, the force found they had to make a retreat down Devil’s Pass. Knox Leet’s horse was shot out from under him and, as he could not walk, managed to unload a pack horse and mount up, although this too was shot. Finding a third, albeit with no bridle, he managed to make the descent down the pass, with the Zulus in hot pursuit. Amidst the general panic, Knox Leet managed to rescue Metcalfe Smith, an officer of the Imperial Light Horse, pulling him up onto his own horse before Smith shot himself in despair, having lost his own mount with the Zulus closing in. Trying to make their escape, they had to turn back when confronted by a sheer drop. They would have been killed if not for the efforts of Lieutenant Duncolme, an officer under Knox Leet’s command, who gave his own life holding off the Zulus with his revolver, allowing Knox Leet and Smith time to escape. It was this action that resulted in Knox Leet being awarded the Victoria Cross. Despite the trials of Devil’s Pass and his knee injury, Knox Leet commanded two companies of the Irregulars in a four-hour long battle at Kambula the following day.

Upon his return to England, he was presented with the VC by Queen Victoria at Windsor Castle on 9th December 1879. A few days earlier, he had been promoted to brevet Lieutenant-Colonel, and was made a full Lieutenant Colonel on 1st July 1881 at the age of 47. He eventually became commander of the 2nd Battalion, 13th Light Infantry on 1st May 1883 and was promoted to full Colonel on 29th November 1883, taking the 2nd Battalion to Burma. He handed over command of the battalion to Lieutenant-Colonel Cox on 1st May 1887 and, two months later, was promoted to Major-General and became a Companion of the Bath. He retired to South London and died at Great Chart, Kent on 29th June 1898 at the age of 65.

Restored by Steve Davies, with research by Paul Cox