NICKISSON, Reginald Arthur
| Service Numbers: | 519, 519A |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | Not yet discovered |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | 20th Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | Not yet discovered |
| Home Town: | Morpeth, Maitland Municipality, New South Wales |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Not yet discovered |
| Died: | Killed in Action, France, 15 November 1916, age not yet discovered |
| Cemetery: |
No known grave - "Known Unto God" Villers-Bretonneux Memorial, Villers-Bretonneux, Picardie, France |
| Memorials: | Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour, Cook's Hill Superior Public School , Villers-Bretonneux Memorial (Australian National Memorial - France) |
World War 1 Service
| 2 May 1916: | Involvement Private, 519, 34th Infantry Battalion, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '17' embarkation_place: Sydney embarkation_ship: HMAT Hororata embarkation_ship_number: A20 public_note: '' | |
|---|---|---|
| 2 May 1916: | Embarked Private, 519, 34th Infantry Battalion, HMAT Hororata, Sydney | |
| 15 Nov 1916: | Involvement Private, 519A, 20th Infantry Battalion, --- :awm_ww1_roll_of_honour_import: awm_service_number: 519A awm_unit: 20 Battalion awm_rank: Private awm_died_date: 1916-11-15 |
Killed at Flers
Reginald Arthur Nickisson was born in 1894 to Frederick Charles Nickisson and Eva May Dimmock in Newcastle, NSW. When he enlisted on 22nd Feb 1916 he was 21 years and 8 months old and was living with his grandmother Mrs Esther Dimmock in Morpeth. He had two brothers who also enlisted in the AIF. Reginald was a driver at the time of enlistment but had been an apprentice to a jeweller in Haymarket St Sydney prior to that.
He embarked from Sydney on the HMAT Honorata on 2nd May 1916, he was unmarried. He was initially in the 34th Battalion, Newcastle's Own, but was transferred to the 20th y the 9th September 1916. He joined his battalion in France and proceeded to Flers where the battalion was reinforcements for the attack in that area from 14th to 16th November. Charles Bean calls the conditions the "worst ever encountered by the AIF."
Reginald was killed in action at Flers on the 15th November and was buried in the field.
Pte H. Barratt later wrote: “I was with him on the left of Flers on Nov. 5th about 10 minutes before he was killed. He was lying in the dugout with a party of about 7 other men. One of these was his cousin Pvt Dumbrell (late 34th Battalion). A shell came over and blew the dugout up, killing seven of them and wounding Dumbrill. Private J Ward VI pl. B Coy, (acting as S/B) carried Dumbill out, and he died on the way to the D/S. I was nearby and saw the whole affair. Nickisson was my mate.” Reference Pte. H. Barratt, 363, A.B Coy. No. 2.A.D.B.D. Etaples17.2.17. S.A.
The Australian National Memorial at Villers Brettoneaux honours him on their wall. His grandmother received his few effects:- an identity disc, wallet, crucifix (he was Church of England) and pencil. His father received his medals.
Submitted 11 November 2017 by Judith Brown