Saved by a Handkerchief:
A Policeman's Miraculous Story of Survival
Hannah Simpson
Two days before his 25th birthday in 1955, Gordon Knowles MBE nearly died.
He was shot six times during a raid on a Northern Irish police station whilst serving as a Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) officer.
The attack was carried out by the republican splinter group Saor Uladh, who sought to press the British government for a United Ireland.
Led by Connie Green, the insurrection gave an early indication of what would follow a decade later with the Troubles.
At 5:40am on 26th November 1955, the rebels blew a hole in the wall of Rosslea Police Station where Knowles was sleeping, catapulting him across the room.
The republicans ran in and shot the newly-trained officer several times before leaving him for dead.
A gun battle ensued between resident RUC officers and the insurgents. They only retreated when their leader Green, was fatally wounded.
More than 65 years later, Knowles can still recall lying wounded on the station floor.
He said: “They shone a torch in my face and said, ‘he’s had it’ and went out through the hole in the wall."
A doctor living nearby was one of the first on the scene. He believed Knowles’ injuries were so severe he would die before an ambulance ever reached their remote location.
So they carried him into the back of the Post Office General's van on a mattress, and drove him along country lanes to the nearest hospital.
On arrival, doctors discovered 13 bullet holes in Knowles’ body, in his knee, back, spine, and one below the heart.
The bullet, which careered two inches below his heart, would have instantly killed him, had it not been for the extra handkerchief he had placed in his pyjama breast pocket the night before.
Doctors confirmed the layers cushioned the bullet and spared the then 24-year-old’s life.
“I would usually stick a handkerchief in my pyjama jacket each night", Knowles explained.
"That evening, I put a second one in for some reason.
“When they removed the handkerchiefs, a bullet dropped out onto the hospital bed.”
Bullet holes and blood stains: The handkerchiefs which saved Officer Knowles' life in 1955.
Bullet holes and blood stains: The handkerchiefs which saved Officer Knowles' life in 1955.
The senior doctor on the ward did not believe Knowles would survive, let alone ever walk again.
But he was wrong on both counts.
The young policeman defied the odds and survived with no life-changing injuries.
A couple of weeks later, Knowles was transferred to Belfast’s Royal Victoria Hospital for recovery, where he met a young nurse, Eileen Patricia Ashely, who would change his life.
“I just fell for her”, he recalled.
After Knowles was discharged from hospital in February 1956, he was determined to see the nurse again.
He recalled: “I phoned her up and we went out a couple of times and that was it.
“We got married on 12th September 1957.”
The couple settled in Lisburn before the arrival of their three children: Ashley, David and Janette.
Knowles’ daughter, Janette Simpson, remembers her father’s scars as a young girl but did not realise their significance until much later.
She recalled: “I thought it was common for most people’s fathers to be shot.
"For me, my dad’s story was just part of the bigger canvas of the family history.”
Not long after his recovery, Knowles returned to the police force ahead of some of the most turbulent years in Northern Irish history.
Orange Day Parade in Belfast, 12th July 1960: The annual Ulster event celebrates Protestant William of Orange defeating the Catholic monarch King James II during the Battle of the Boyne, 1690.
Orange Day Parade in Belfast, 12th July 1960: The annual Ulster event celebrates Protestant William of Orange defeating the Catholic monarch King James II during the Battle of the Boyne, 1690.
A decade after the Rosslea attack, political unrest resurfaced when the extremist republican group, the Provisional Irish Republican Army, began a campaign of terror to unify Ireland.
The Troubles, as they became known, lasted from the late-1960s until the Good Friday Agreement in 1998, and resulted in around 3,500 deaths and 50,000 injuries.
Key dates in the history of The Troubles.
Key dates in the history of The Troubles.
Catholic nationalists fought for an independent Ireland free from British governance, whilst Protestant unionists were defiant in their allegiance to the UK.
The Irish Republican Army (IRA) routinely targeted unionist police officers over the 30-year conflict.
In total, 319 RUC officers were murdered and 9,000 were injured by the paramilitary group.
By 1983, Northern Ireland was the world’s most dangerous place to serve as a police officer.
This was twice the rate of the second most dangerous country of El Salvador.
Such a constant threat could not be overstated for police officers and their families during this period.
Some of Knowles’ own friends and fellow servicemen were murdered and he feared for his own life every day, often having to take different routes to work to avoid being followed.
His daughter, Simpson, witnessed her father struggle through those politically fraught years, also fearing he might not return home from work each day.
She said: “When he got into the car and switched the engine on, I waited for the explosion.
“Even when the doorbell rang, there was always a fear about who was on the other side.”
In July 1984, as The Troubles entered their third and final decade, Knowles retired from the police force after 32 years of service.
He said: “I thoroughly enjoyed the Police Force.
“I am a very, very proud member of the Royal Ulster Constabulary.”
Knowles still carries physical scars from the turmoil as remnants of shrapnel from the Rosslea shooting remain in his body to this day.
“I’ve forgiven those that took part in that raid”, he said.
“What’s the good of hate?”
After retiring, Knowles became an active member of Northern Ireland’s Police Male Voice Choir and served as Director and Welfare Officer for the Disabled Police Officers Association of Northern Ireland.
In 2011, he was awarded a Member of the British Empire by Queen Elizabeth II for his contribution to the association.
Today, he lives in County Down and has lived to see five grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.
On 28th November 2020, Knowles celebrated his 90th birthday.
He marked the day with a virtual family celebration and reflected on the blessings of his life.
“I couldn’t have asked for three better children”, he said.
“I’ve had a happy, happy life.”
As for me, I am personally grateful for those two handkerchiefs.
If it wasn’t for them, I wouldn’t be here today to tell my grandfather’s story.
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