NICOL, Peter
(Service number 9/2388)
| First Rank | Sergeant | Last Rank | Captain |
|---|
Birth
| Date | 11 June 1888 | Place of Birth | Portnoch, Perthshire, Scotland |
|---|
Enlistment Information
| Date | 11 October 1915 | Age | 27 years |
|---|---|---|---|
| Address at Enlistment | Club Hotel, Timaru (formerly of Otaio, South Canterbury) | ||
| Occupation | Barman | ||
| Previous Military Experience | 3rd Battalion, Black Watch - 1 year; Fife Yeomanry - 3 years | ||
| Marital Status | Single | ||
| Next of Kin | J. NICOL (father), 20 Nasmyth Place, Kelty, Fifeshire, Scotland | ||
Military Service
| Served with | NZ Armed Forces | Served in | Army |
|---|
Embarkation Information
| Body on Embarkation | New Zealand Expeditionary Force | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Unit, Squadron, or Ship | 11th Reinforcements, Otago Mounted Rifles, D Squadron | ||
| Date | 1 April 1916 | ||
| Transport | Tahiti or Maunganui | ||
| Embarked From | Destination | Suez, Egypt | |
| Other Units Served With | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Last Unit Served With | Canterbury Mounted Rifles | ||
Military Awards
| Campaigns | Egyptian; Western European | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Service Medals | British War Medal; Victory Medal | ||
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 | 2 October 1976 | Age | 88 years |
|---|---|---|---|
| Place of Death | Margaret Wilson Home, Timaru (residence) | ||
| Cause | |||
| Memorial or Cemetery | Salisbury Park Crematorium, Timaru | ||
| New Zealand Memorials | |||
Biographical Notes
Peter Nicol was born at Portnoch, Perthshire, Scotland on 11 June 1888, the youngest son of James and Catherine (née Riddoch or Reddick) Nicol. James and Catherine who married in 1881 had five sons followed by three daughters. Peter was at home with family at Cleish, Kinross in 1891 and at Beath, Fifeshire in 1901 when he was a scholar. All remained in Scotland but Peter who came to New Zealand not too long before he enlisted for war service, it seems. Formerly of Otaio, South Canterbury, he was a barman at the Club Hotel, Timaru when he enlisted at Trentham on 11 October 1915. He had been medically examined at on 20 May. Single and Presbyterian, he named his father as next-of-kin – J. Nicol, 20 Nasmyth Place, Kelty, Fifeshire, Scotland.
Sergeant P. Nicol embarked with the Otago Mounted Rifles of the 11th Reinforcements, departing for Suez, Egypt on 1 April 1916. Peter married Ann (Annie) Henderson on 14 February 1919 at Kelty, Fifeshire. Surely, he knew Annie before he came to New Zealand, she a native of Kelty. 2nd Lieutenant P. Nicol returned to New Zealand per the “Ionic”, embarking at Plymouth on 8 September 1919 and disembarking at Wellington on 25 October. Two daughters were born to Peter and Annie who had settled at Timaru – Dorothy Catherine Nicol in 1920 and Margaret Annie Nicol in 1922. Peter served in World War Two also, attesting on 23 July 1940.
Peter Nicol, who was a meter reader at Timaru, died at his residence - Margaret Wilson Home, Timaru, on 2 October 1976, aged 88 years and was cremated at Salisbury Park Crematorium, Timaru. Annie died at Margaret Wilson Home on 4 July 1980 and was cremated, a plaque at Salisbury Park marking the interment of their ashes.
Sources
Auckland War Memorial Museum Cenotaph Database [02 July 2026]; 1891 & 1901 Scotland census returns (ancestry.com.au) [02 July 2026]; Press, 25 September 1919 (Papers Past) [20 October 2015]; Salisbury Park Crematorium records [03 July 2026]
External Links
Related Documents
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Researched and Written by
Teresa Scott, SC Genealogy Society
Currently Assigned to
Not assigned.
Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License unless otherwise stated.
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