Knights was commissioned from
cadet into the
York and Lancaster Regiment as a temporary second lieutenant (on probation) on 7 July 1916. He served in France with the 13th Battalion, He was promoted to lieutenant on 7 January 1918, and soon moved to the
Royal Flying Corps, being appointed a flying officer (observer) and transferred to the RFC General List on 16 March 1918, with seniority backdated to 27 January. Knights was posted to No. 62 Squadron on 10 March 1918, and served as observer/gunner with pilot
George Everard Gibbons, flying a
Bristol F.2b two-seater fighter. Between 12 March and 28 May they accounted for eight enemy aircraft, including three on 3 May and two on 28 May. Knights was hospitalized on 10 July 1918, and saw no further successes. ==References==