Clayton Knight

Clayton Knight (1891-1969) was an aviator during World War I. He was also an aviation artist and illustrator. He is known for being one of the founders of the Clayton Knight Committee.

Early Life and Education
Clayton Knight was born in Rochester, New York on March 30, 1891. He studied at the Art Institute of Chicago under famous artists, Robert Henri and George Bellows, from 1910 to 1913. In early 1917, Knight had a growing career as an artist in New York City.

World War I
In 1917, Knight enlisted in the U.S. Army Signal Corps. He was most interested in joining the aviation section. Along with 150 other American pilots, Knight was sent to England in the summer of 1917 for advanced pilot training. In total, 2,500 future pilots were sent to England and France in order to speed up American training. He started his training with the No.44 Squadron of the Royal Flying Corps, which was formed in Essex on July 24, 1917. This particular squadron achieved its first victory on January 28, 1918. Knight also flew with the 206 squadron of the Royal Flying Corps, and later, the Royal Air Force. He served the British Second Army on the Western Front in France.

On October 5, 1918, Knight was shot down by Oberleutnant Harald Auffarth, the commanding officer of Jasta 9. At the time, Knight was flying a British Havilland 9. He was wounded, but survived the crash landing on German soil. When the war ended, Knight was a prisoner of war at a German hospital. He was able to recuperate at a British hospital.

Artwork and Writing
After his recovery, Knight continued his career as an aviation artist. He exhibited his work at Associated American Artists. It is possible that his acquisition of airplane art, which he began collecting in 1928, may be the largest archive of airplane art. Knight became known for his illustrations in aviation books. He also illustrated for The New Yorker.

Knight and his wife were also illustrators of children's books, and often collaborated. He wrote and illustrated a few We Were There books, which were historical novels for children. This particular series was written as a fictional retelling of a historical event, featuring kids as the primary characters. He wrote and illustrated, We Were There...at the Normandy Invasion, We Were There...with the Lafayette Escadrille, and We Were There...at the Battle of Britain, the latter written with his wife. Both Knight and his wife were illustrators for the P.F. Volland Company, most known for publishing children's books. Knight's children's book, The Non-Stop Stowaway: The Story of a Long Distance Flight (1928) was published under the Buzza Company imprint.

Knight was the author, co-author, and/or illustrator of many other books including:
 * The Red Knight of Germany: The Story of Baron von Richthofen (1927)
 * Pilot's Luck (1929)
 * Quest of the Golden Condor (1945)
 * Secret of the Buried Tomb (1948)
 * Skyroad to Mystery (1949)
 * Hitch your Wagon-Bernt Balchen (1950)
 * The Story of Flight (1954)
 * Normandy Invastion (1956)
 * Lifeline in the Sky- MATS (1957)
 * Plane Crash (1958)
 * Battle of Britain (1959)
 * About our Armed Forces (1959)
 * The How and Why Book of Rockets and Missiles (1960)
 * Layfayette Escadrille (1961)
 * Rockets, Missiles and Satellites (1962)

Clayton Knight Committee
Knight formed The Clayton Knight Committee in 1940 with Canadian pilot, Billy Bishop. Knight was living in Greenwich Village at the time. Its mission was to transport Americans to Canada in order to train and fight for the Allies during the period of U.S. neutrality. The committee was funded by Homer Smith, and assisted by several pro-war German émigrés. Essentially it worked as a secret and illegal recruitment agency. From 1939 to 1942, Knight's "job" was "Special Correspondent for the Associated Press." This was a cover for his main job, working for The Clayton Knight Committee. Bishop spent most of 1940 in London with Winston Churchill, which meant Knight had to set up office and find new partners during this time. Their original headquarters was in the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in New York. It eventually expanded to Spokane, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Dallas, Kansas City, Cleveland, Atlanta, Memphis, and San Antonio.

Later Years
In May 1942, the Clayton Knight Committee ended. Between 1943 and 1945, Knight was an official historian and artist for the United States Air Force in Alaska, Aleutian Islands, and the Central Pacific. His original artwork, personal diaries, correspondence, memoranda, and reports are held in the Air Force University Library and Historical Branch.

On July 10, 1946, he was awarded the Order of the British Empire for his "conspicuous service" to England in World War I and World War II.

Personal life
Knight was married to Katherine Sturges Dodge, a fellow illustrator, artist, and designer. Their son, Hilary Knight, is the illustrator of the Eloise (books) series of children's books.

Clayton Knight died on July 17, 1969 in Danbury, Connecticut.