When a pocket Bible saved a WW1 soldier from certain death

Leonard Knight was 17 when he was shot by a German soldier in World War I. Fortunately, he had placed his pocket Bible in his breast pocket. The bullet struck the Bible and lodged in it just 50 pages from the end. Thanks to the Bible, Knight survived without even a scratch.

His aunt, Minnie Yates, gave him the Bible with a note inside that said, “To Leonard, with love from Aunt Minnie. July 1915.”

No one is sure what happened to the young soldier or even where the event took place. It is believed that Knight survived the war.

His Bible has been passed down through five generations of his aunt’s family with the bullet still intact within it. It is currently in possession of Paula Ryan, 60, and Claire, her daughter.

Claire is the great-great-granddaughter of Minnie Yates. She found out about the Bible when her grandmother got it out to show the family. She kept it in a special biscuit tin on the top shelf of her wardrobe.

Knight was born in Wychbold, Worcestershire, in 1898. He disappeared after being released. There is scant information about his service. It is believed that he lived into his 70s while suffering from PTSD from seeing the trauma of the war, Mail Online reported.

Paula has tried to track down information to no avail. She’s reached out to the military only to find out that many of the Ministry of Defense records were destroyed during World War II.

Ian Harvey

Ian Harvey is one of the authors writing for WAR HISTORY ONLINE