For a few references (including a correction for the location of the breeder), this was described in Modern Roses II, published in 1940; the entry there only changed slightly over the years. After looking at the scanned Bobbink & Atkins catalogs now available online, it appears in their 1941 catalog, although it was not in the 1940 catalog that I was able to locate. Maybe there was an in-between list in late 1940 that is not currently available in scanned form, as the introduction date mentioned in Modern Roses II is corroborated by another early reference (see below).

The Bobbink & Atkins 1941 catalog description reads, "PIKE’S PEAK. Shrub. A splendid new shrub Rose originated by Dr. N. C. Gunter of Pueblo, Colo., from a native wild Rose found growing there, crossed with the Hybrid Tea, Hollywood. Plants grow 4 to 5 feet tall and carry a splendid crop of 3 1/2-inch double flowers of bright red with yellow to white centers. It is moderately fragrant. A splendid addition to the list of the few dependable Shrub Roses. 13 petals. Propagation rights reserved. $1.50 each."

So it seems that the breeder is not from the United Kingdom, but from Pueblo, Colorado, in the U.S.

The listing in the Bobbink & Atkins 1941 catalog can be seen at www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/60530285. The scanned 1940 catalog I was able to find (where it does not appear) is available at www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/60147777.

The cultivar was also described in an entry by Stephen F. Hamblin in The National Horticultural Magazine in October 1941 (page 287), titled Double Forms of Our Wild Roses: "A different plant, with semi-double red flowers on a plant like the wild Prickly rose, but clustered, is Pike's Peak, from pollen of Hollywood, HT., on the wild plant. This was produced by N. C. Gunter, and put in the trade by Bobbink & Atkins in 1940. It is a very pleasing "half-wild" rose, very vigorous and hardy." This can be found online at ahsgardening.org/wp-content/pdfs/1941-10r.pdf.

The variety that is being marketed in the U.S. as "Crimson Knight" is evidently this cultivar, since the same photo used in U.S. Patent #31,742 is also used on the Suntory Flowers website page (although they don't identify the actual cultivar name or even a patent number for any of the Brindabella Roses selections):

suntoryflowers.com/variety/brindabella-crimson-knight/rose-brindabella-crimson-knight-007/

According to John Starnes' blog, this found rose was later reidentified as the cultivar 'Manettii' (suggesting it was originally the rootstock of another variety).