Bill Knewitz

(It is as fellow member of the Thursday Gang that I am writing these reminiscences of Bill. I know there are many aspects of Bill’s life about which I know very little but it is amazing how much you gather over a cup of coffee or whilst eating a ham sandwich!)

Bill was one of the earliest members of the East Kent Railway and served as its Vice-chairman at one stage. He was heavily involved in the arduous tasks of track clearing and track laying and regularly joined the working parties each Tuesday. At Shepherdswell he helped to construct the signal box and to refurbish the buffet.

In recent years he was a member of the Thursday Gang where he played a major part in such projects as the construction of the platform extension and the shelter as well the renovation of the GUV. Thanks to his patient and meticulous manner he did countless other jobs too – from repairing a broken fan heater to coaxing the petrol mower back into life! Even when he began to feel unwell he came along to make sure that the notices advertising events were in place – and actually he had cut out all the letters and stencils by hand.

Although born in Wiltshire Bill soon moved to Hampshire. Later, I discovered, Bill spent some of teen-age years living in Ramsgate where his father owned a shop. He delivered groceries in a basket on the front of a bike and, to earn some extra money, he would take holidaymakers’ luggage to their hotels or guest houses.

He served in the Royal Navy and seemed to have travelled to every corner of the globe. He would come up with tales of the Moscow Underground or Death Valley, California - and he had been there. We had great fun one Thursday trying to find a holiday destination for him that he had not already visited! He was honoured to serve aboard the Royal Yacht Britannia and vowed that the Queen always greeted him as “Bill”!

He became a keen computer user setting up a website and editing a newsletter for the HMS Highflyer Association, for those who had served in Ceylon on the wireless stations. He even produced the much prized Thursday Gang Newsletter for those working at Eythorne!

Whilst Bill did have a sense of fun he was a reserved and private person and so we only gleaned little snippets of information about him as a person. One such way was from his photographs as he was a keen photographer. He would bring along his latest holiday photographs and we would glimpse a little of Bill’s personal life.

Bill, who recently died after a period of illness, will be greatly missed by those who knew him. He was a dedicated EKR member and a valued friend.

John Tittensor, Thursday Gang Member