Born in Market Weighton near Kingston-upon-Hull,[2] Kneeshaw became a bricklayer and joined the Independent Labour Party (ILP).
He moved to Birmingham to become a full-time organiser for the ILP,[3] and in 1911 was elected to the city council, serving until 1919.
[4] He served for several years as the Midlands representative on the National Administrative Council of the ILP,[5] and was also active in the Union of Democratic Control.
[5] He stood again for Labour in the 1926 Howdenshire by-election, only handing his nomination papers in ten minutes before the deadline, as he mistakenly believed they should be delivered to Beverley, rather than Pocklington.
[10][11] The post was broadened to North West Regional Organiser in 1931, and Kneeshaw remained in the role until his retirement.