NICHOLS, George Frederick
| Service Number: | WX10666 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 15 January 1941 |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | 2nd/28th Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | Bunbury, Western Australia, 6 January 1911 |
| Home Town: | Bunbury, Bunbury, Western Australia |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Labourer |
| Died: | Bunbury, Western Australia, 9 January 1998, aged 87 years, cause of death not yet discovered |
| Cemetery: |
Bunbury General Cemetery, Bunbury, Western Australia Lawn, Section D |
| Memorials: | Ballarat Australian Ex-Prisoners of War Memorial |
World War 2 Service
| 15 Jan 1941: | Enlisted Australian Military Forces (Army WW2), Private, WX10666 | |
|---|---|---|
| 9 Sep 1941: | Embarked Australian Military Forces (Army WW2), Infantry Training Battalions, from Fremantle to the Middle East | |
| 7 Jul 1942: | Transferred Private, 2nd/28th Infantry Battalion | |
| 30 Sep 1942: | Imprisoned El Alamein, reported missing in action 27 Jul 1942; interned various POW camps; to UK Oct 1944; returned to Australia Nov 1944 | |
| 3 Apr 1945: | Discharged Australian Military Forces (Army WW2), Private, WX10666 |
Help us honour George Frederick Nichols's service by contributing information, stories, and images so that they can be preserved for future generations.
Add my storyBiography contributed by Cherilyn McMeekin
George was the fourth of 14 children born to Thomas and Rose, of Bunbury WA. Only six of their children survived to adulthood, with eight dying in infancy.
George gave his year of birth as 1911 on enlistment (January), but his birth was registered in 1912 (Wellington, reg. 37).
All four of George's surviving brothers served in the Army in WWII. One, Alfred, was killed in action in PNG in Dec 1942 (Cpl, WX4353), aged 26.
George's battalion was captured at Ruin Ridge, El Alamein in Jul 1942. He was on board the Italian transport ship Nino Bixio when it was torpedoed by a British submarine in the Mediterranean on 17 August 1942. The Nino Bixio was transporting Allied POWs from Libya to Italy. He was one of the 122 Australian POWs to survive the incident.
George described the internment camp accommodation as 'reasonable', the rations insufficient and of poor quality, bathing facilities poor, and sanitation fair. He worked eight-hour days farming, receiving 25 lire in pay, plus one lire per day - paid fortnightly - to spend at the camp canteen. He described the camp staff as 'vindictive'.
George escaped from the camp with a group of fellow POWs, splitting up into smaller groups until eventually, it was just George and Private Norman Gibbons (WX3880). They made it to Switzerland, where they surrendered to border police as escaped POWs. They were interned there but were well treated. Pte Gibbons gave a detailed description of their escape, which is included in his NAA record.
It appears George did not marry. He died in 1998 aged 87 and is interred with his brother Percy at Bunbury Cemetery.