Harold Knox King was born on 24 March 1907, the second child of William Henry King and Williamina King. His birth was registered in the 2nd quarter of 1907 in the Rochdale registration district, Lancashire. On 10 November 1910 he was baptised in The Parish Church of Saint Mary in The Baum, 2 St Mary's Gate, Wardleworth, Rochdale, Lancashire, where the baptismal registers show his family living at 6 Greenhill Avenue, Rochdale and that his father was a traveller.
In the 1911 census he is shown as living in a five roomed property at 6 Byrom Street, Rochdale, with his parents, his elder sister Winifred Lothian King, together with a male boarder. His father described himself as a contract officer for the National Telephone Company.
In the 1939 England and Wales Register he is described as a County Council Civil Engineer residing at 14 Somerset Avenue, Blackpool, Lancashire, with his widowed mother.
He was granted a commission for the duration of hostilities as Pilot Officer in the Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve, service number 87132, with effect from 27 September 1940 and served in the Administration and Special Duties Branch. After several promotions he was, as a Wing Commander, made an Officer in the Military Division of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 1946 New Year Honours List.
He died, aged 76 years, on 1 August 1983, his death being registered in the 3rd quarter of 1983 in the Surrey Northern registration district. Probate records show that his address had been 'Havasu', Albury Road, Burwood Park, Walton-on-Thames, Surrey, and that when probate was granted on 19 October 1983 his estate totalled £103,483.
Credit for this entry to: Andrew Behan
