Bernard Henry Knight (born 3 May 1931) is a Welsh

forensic pathologist Forensic pathology is pathology that focuses on determining the cause of death by examining a corpse. A post mortem examination is performed by a medical examiner or forensic pathologist, usually during the investigation of criminal law cases an ...

and writer. He became a

Home Office The Home Office (HO), also known (especially in official papers and when referred to in Parliament) as the Home Department, is the United Kingdom's interior ministry. It is responsible for public safety and policing, border security, immigr ...

pathologist Pathology is the study of disease. The word ''pathology'' also refers to the study of disease in general, incorporating a wide range of biology research fields and medical practices. However, when used in the context of modern medical treatme ...

in 1965 and was appointed Professor of

Forensic Pathology Forensic pathology is pathology that focuses on determining the cause of death by examining a corpse. A post mortem examination is performed by a medical examiner or forensic pathologist, usually during the investigation of criminal law cases ...

, University of Wales College of Medicine, in 1980.

Early life

Knight was born on 3 May 1931 in

Cardiff Cardiff (; ) is the capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of Wales. Cardiff had a population of in and forms a Principal areas of Wales, principal area officially known as the City and County of Ca ...

, Wales. Upon failing to gain a place to study agriculture, he began work at the Cardiff Royal Infirmary as a lab technician. He studied medicine at the Welsh National School of Medicine,

University of Wales The University of Wales () is a confederal university based in Cardiff, Wales. Founded by royal charter in 1893 as a federal university with three constituent colleges – Aberystwyth, Bangor and Cardiff – the university was the first universit ...

. He graduated in 1954

Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery A Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery (; MBBS, also abbreviated as BM BS, MB ChB, MB BCh, or MB BChir) is a medical degree granted by medical schools or universities in countries that adhere to the United Kingdom's higher education trad ...

Career

Military service

As part of

National Service National service is a system of compulsory or voluntary government service, usually military service. Conscription is mandatory national service. The term ''national service'' comes from the United Kingdom's National Service (Armed Forces) Act ...

, Knight was commissioned into the

Royal Army Medical Corps The Royal Army Medical Corps (RAMC) was a specialist corps in the British Army which provided medical services to all Army personnel and their families, in war and in peace. On 15 November 2024, the corps was amalgamated with the Royal Army De ...

on 3 September 1956 as a

lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a Junior officer, junior commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations, as well as fire services, emergency medical services, Security agency, security services ...

. On 12 September 1956, he transferred from the National Service List to the Regular Army and was given seniority in the rank of lieutenant from 29 August 1955. He was promoted to

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

on 12 September 1956 with seniority from 29 August 1956. He served as a medical officer in Malaya during the

Malayan Emergency The Malayan Emergency, also known as the Anti–British National Liberation War, was a guerrilla warfare, guerrilla war fought in Federation of Malaya, Malaya between communist pro-independence fighters of the Malayan National Liberation Arm ...

. On 12 September 1959, he transferred to the Regular Army Reserve of Officers, signalling the end of his military service. He ceased to belong to the reserve on 12 September 1964.

Medical and legal career

Having graduated in 1954, Knight became a

pre-registration house officer Pre-registration house officer (PRHO), commonly referred to as house officer and less commonly as houseman, is a former official term for a grade of junior doctor that was, until 2005, the only job open to medical graduates in the United Kingdom ...

. He undertook one six-month job in medicine and one in surgery. He was then a

Senior House Officer A senior house officer (SHO) is a non-consultant hospital doctor in Ireland and many Commonwealth countries. SHOs usually have a minimum of 1 year post medical school training. SHOs are supervised in their work by consultants and registrars. In tr ...

specialising in

pathology Pathology is the study of disease. The word ''pathology'' also refers to the study of disease in general, incorporating a wide range of biology research fields and medical practices. However, when used in the context of modern medical treatme ...

from 1955 to 1956. He served in the

British Army The British Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of the United Kingdom. the British Army comprises 73,847 regular full-time personnel, 4,127 Brigade of Gurkhas, Gurkhas, 25,742 Army Reserve (United Kingdom), volunteer reserve perso ...

as a medical officer specialising in pathology from 1956 to 1959. Upon returning to the United Kingdom and leaving the army, he began lecturing. From 1959 to 1962, he was a lecturer in forensic medicine at the

University of London The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a collegiate university, federal Public university, public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The ...

. He was a senior lecturer at the University of Newcastle from 1965 to 1968, during which time he also became a barrister. He then returned to his

alma mater Alma mater (; : almae matres) is an allegorical Latin phrase meaning "nourishing mother". It personifies a school that a person has attended or graduated from. The term is related to ''alumnus'', literally meaning 'nursling', which describes a sc ...

, the University of Wales, as a senior lecturer. He was promoted to reader in 1976 and to Professor of Forensic Pathology in 1980. He retired in 1996 becoming

Emeritus Professor ''Emeritus/Emerita'' () is an honorary title granted to someone who retires from a position of distinction, most commonly an academic faculty position, but is allowed to continue using the previous title, as in "professor emeritus". In some c ...

of the university. He served as a

pathologist from 1965 to 1996. In his thirty-one years in that role, he conducted over 25,000

autopsies An autopsy (also referred to as post-mortem examination, obduction, necropsy, or autopsia cadaverum) is a surgical procedure that consists of a thorough examination of a corpse by dissection to determine the cause, mode, and manner of death; ...

. He was involved in a number of high-profile cases, including that of the serial killers

Fred Fred or FRED may refer to: People * Fred (name), including a list of people and characters with the name Mononym * Fred (cartoonist) (1931–2013), pen name of Fred Othon Aristidès, French * Fred (footballer, born 1949) (1949–2022), Fred ...

and Rosemary West, and the first use of DNA to confirm the identity of a body, that of Karen Price in 1989.

Author

He has been writing since before 1963, when his first crime novel was published. Since then, he has written about thirty books, including contemporary crime fiction, historical novels about Wales, biography, non-fiction popular works on forensic medicine, twelve medico-legal textbooks and the Crowner John Mysteries series of 12th-century historical mysteries featuring one of the earliest (fictional) coroners in England. In addition, he has written scripts for radio and television dramas and documentaries, including the forensic series '' The Expert'' starring

Marius Goring Marius Re Goring (23 May 191230 September 1998) was an English stage and screen actor. He is best remembered for the four films he made with Powell and Pressburger, Powell & Pressburger, particularly as Conductor 71 in ''A Matter of Life and D ...

, in the 1970s. He has contributed to many other textbooks and has edited several medical journals - he was Managing Editor of Elsevier's ''Forensic Science International'', the leading international publication in the field. He is a founder member of The Medieval Murderers, a select group of historical crime-writers within the

Crime Writers' Association The Crime Writers' Association (CWA) is a specialist authors' organisation in the United Kingdom, most notable for its "Dagger" awards for the best crime writing of the year, and the Diamond Dagger awarded to an author for lifetime achievement. ...

, who give presentations at literary festivals, libraries and bookshops, to promote their work amongst the public. He is also one of the non-fiction judges for the annual 'Dagger' Awards of the Crime Writers' Association and a regular reviewer of crime books for the Internet sit
Tangled Web

Honours and decorations

In the 1993

Queen's Birthday Honours The Birthday Honours, in some Commonwealth realms, mark the King's Official Birthday, reigning monarch's official birthday in each realm by granting various individuals appointment into Order (honour), national or Dynastic order of knighthood, dy ...

, Knight was appointed

Commander of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

(CBE). He received the General Service Medal with Malaya clasp for his service during the

Bibliography

Crowner John Mysteries

Wye Valley Series / Dr Richard Pryor

* ''Where Death Delights'' (2010) * ''According to the Evidence'' (2010) * ''Grounds for Appeal'' (2011)

Tom Howden Series

* ''Dead in the Dog'' (2012)

Other

* ''Lion Rampant'' (1972) * ''Madoc'' (1977) * ''Brennan'' (2003)

Novels written under pseudonym Bernard Picton

#''The Lately Deceased'' (1963) #''The Thread of Evidence'' (1965) #''Mistress Murder'' (1966) #''Russian Roulette'' (1968) #''Policeman's Progress'' (1969) #''Tiger at Bay'' (1970) #''The Expert'' (1976)

Non-Fiction

* ''Murder, Suicide, or Accident: The Forensic Pathologist at Work'' (1971) (published under pseudonym Bernard Picton)

References

External links

History of the Medieval English Coroner System
by Prof. Bernard Knight, * Th
Bernard Knight literary archive
is housed at Special Collections and Archives, Cardiff University. {{DEFAULTSORT:Knight, Bernard Welsh mystery writers Welsh crime novelists Welsh historical novelists Royal Army Medical Corps officers Writers of historical mysteries Writers of historical fiction set in the Middle Ages British Army personnel of the Malayan Emergency Living people Scientists from Cardiff Commanders of the Order of the British Empire 1931 births Forensic pathologists Academics of the University of Wales Welsh pathologists Military personnel from Cardiff