NICOL, William Harold
(Service number 7/97)
Back: Rainey, G; Frost, R; Julian, W; Cochrane, John; Tennant, John; Cochrane, James; Nichol N; Cameron, C; Robins; Rickman, E A; ?
3rd R: McKenzie, J (alexander John); Duggan, M; Tobin ,J; Tavendale, W; Campbell, J; Gynes; Hodgson, J; McKenzie, R S (Percy?); Samuels, H [actually Henry Samuel Miniss]; Copland; Fitzharris, P; Gill, J
2nd R: Fraser; Whitta, J H; Carr, J; Manchester, A R; Wain, P J; Finlay, John; Bailey, G C; Sloan, P; Bell, N; Menzies, W; Spencer, E; Ryan, E
Front: McGrath, W; Keane, T; Wall, T; Hunt; ?; Hogan, H (Courtesy of Waimate Museum & Archives, P2183 )
| First Rank | Trooper | Last Rank | Sergeant |
|---|
Birth
| Date | 16/05/1886 | Place of Birth | Naseby |
|---|
Enlistment Information
| Date | 13 August 1914 | Age | 27 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Address at Enlistment | Waimate | ||
| Occupation | Clerk for National Mortgage Agency, Waimaate | ||
| Previous Military Experience | N Battery, Dunedin, completed 2 years' service | ||
| Marital Status | Single | ||
| Next of Kin | Robert NICOL (father), Waimate | ||
Military Service
| Served with | NZ Armed Forces | Served in | Army |
|---|
Embarkation Information
| Body on Embarkation | Main Body | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Unit, Squadron, or Ship | Canterbury Mounted rifles | ||
| Date | 16 October 1914 | ||
| Transport | Tahiti or Athenic | ||
| Embarked From | Wellington | Destination | Suez, Egypt |
| Other Units Served With | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Last Unit Served With | Canterbury Mounted Rifles | ||
Military Awards
| Campaigns | Egyptian and Gallipoli | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Service Medals | British War Medal, Victory Medal, 1914-1915 Star | ||
Award Circumstances and Date
No information
Prisoner of War Information
| Date of Capture | |
|---|---|
| Where Captured and by Whom | |
| Actions Prior to Capture | |
| PoW Serial Number | |
| PoW Camps | |
| Days Interned | |
| Liberation Date |
Death
| Date | 10 December 1952 | Age | 66 years |
|---|---|---|---|
| Place of Death | Christchurch | ||
| Cause | |||
| Memorial or Cemetery | Ruru Lawn Cemetery, Christchurch | ||
| New Zealand Memorials | |||
Biographical Notes
William Harold Nicoll, known as Harold, was born at Naseby on 16 May 1886, the fourth son of Robert Nicol and his wife Elizabeth Ereana (nee Andrews). Robert, from Scotland, married Elizabeth in 1878 at Oamaru. Robert established the flour mill (with the giant silos) at Waimate in 1890. Both parents died at Waimate, his mother in 1920 and his father in 1926.
Harold was a clerk for the National Mortgage Agency in Waimate at enlistment, giving his next of kin as his father Robert (by then also living in Waimate). Harold enlisted with the Main Body of the Canterbury Mounted Rifles on 13 August 1914. He was described as 5ft 8in, 149lbs, with fair complexion, brown eyes, and brown hair, single and Presbyterian. He had previous military experience with the territorials. He embarked at Wellington on 16 October 1914, bound for Suez and Egypt. Harold served as a clerk at military headquarters in Egypt, achieving the rank of sergeant in November 1915. He eventually left Cairo in December 1917 with malaria, and was discharged 20 January 1918 as no longer physically fit on account of a "pre-enlistment disability aggravated by active service". He had served 3 years 161 days. His intended address was Frasertown, Wairoa, Hawkes Bay.
William Harold Nicol was still at Frasertown in 1928, listed as a farmer. He married Ethel Jean Johnston in 1931 and by 1935 he was a confectioner in Hokitika. He re-enlisted during the Second World War on 17 June 1942 aged 53, a private No.819011. At that time he was listed as a married man living in Weld St, Hokitika, a confectioner and owner of a cake shop. He was discharged from that engagement on 17 April 1943 after an examination found evidence of TB, his intended address 114 Albany St, Dunedin.
Harold died in Christchurch on 10 December 1952 and is buried at Ruru Lawn Cemetery.
Sources
Auckland War Memorial Museum Cenotaph Database [27 May 2018 & August 2021]; NZBMD; Assorted records at Ancestry.com [August 2021]; Christchurch City Council Cemeteries Database at https://heritage.christchurchcitylibraries.com/Cemeteries/
External Links
Related Documents
No documents available.
Researched and Written by
Sahiban Kanwal; Carol Bell, SC branch NZSG
Currently Assigned to
Not assigned.
Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License unless otherwise stated.
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