NICOL, Nicholas Charles
| Service Number: | 3103 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 31 October 1916 |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | 43rd Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | Cape Town, South Africa, 1881 |
| Home Town: | Yorketown, Yorke Peninsula, South Australia |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Labourer |
| Died: | Tuberculosis , Isolation Hospital, North Terrace, Adelaide, South Australia, 23 May 1919 |
| Cemetery: |
West Terrace Cemetery (General) Road 5, Path 25, Aspect W, Site Number 14. Unmarked Grave |
| Memorials: |
World War 1 Service
| 31 Oct 1916: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Private, 3103, 43rd Infantry Battalion | |
|---|---|---|
| 23 Jun 1917: | Involvement Private, 3103, 43rd Infantry Battalion, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '18' embarkation_place: Adelaide embarkation_ship: HMAT Borda embarkation_ship_number: A30 public_note: '' | |
| 23 Jun 1917: | Embarked Private, 3103, 43rd Infantry Battalion, HMAT Borda, Adelaide | |
| 28 Jun 1918: | Discharged AIF WW1, Private, 3103, 43rd Infantry Battalion |
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Add my storyBiography contributed by Paul Lemar
Nicholas was the son Mrs Maria Elizabeth GERBER of Breede River Station, Cape Colony was born in 1881 in Cape Town, South Africa.
Nicholas served 2 years with the South African Light Horse.
He then immigrated to South Australia and was a labourer in Yorketown, SA
(he had been in Australia for at least 2 years in 1916)
Sadly, Nicholas died on Friday the 23rd of May 1919 from Tuberculosis in the Isolation Hospital, North Terrace, Adelaide.
His funeral left from the Isolation Hospital the following day on Saturday at 3pm for the West Terrace Cemetery; Road 5, Path 25, Aspect W, Site Number 14.
Military
Boer War
Nicholas served 2 years with the South African Light Horse.
The South African Light Horse regiment of the British Army were raised in Cape Colony in 1899 and disbanded in 1907.
WW1
At the age of 35, Nicholas enlisted into the 1st AIF on the 31st of October 1916 in Yorktown and allotted the service number 3103 and posted to A Company, 2nd Depot Battalion at Exhibition Camp.
He listed his mother, Mrs Maria Elizabeth GERBER of Breede River Station, Cape Colony, South Africa, as his next of kin.
On the 6th of December he was transferred to B Company, 2nd Depot Battalion and then 2 weeks later he was transferred to C Company.
He was then transferred to the 43rd Battalion, 7th Reinforcements in Mitcham Camp on the 23rd of February 1917.
Nicholas embarked from Adelaide on board HMAT A30 Borda on the 23rd of June 1917 and Nicholas now realised that this was the commencement of the long, long trail, the end of which none could foretell.
Just 4 days into the voyage Nicholas became ill with Influenza and was hospitalised on board the ship until the 5th of August
He disembarked in Plymouth on the 25th of August and marched into the 11th Training Battalion at Lark Hill, Salisbury Plain.
On the 6th of September Nicholas was admitted into the Fargo Military Hospital in Durrington suffering from Bronchitis and Debility.
After 12 days here he was transferred to the 3rd Australian Auxiliary Hospital in Dartford where he spent another 2 weeks before being discharged to No.1 Command Depot in Weymouth.
He was then transferred to No.2 Command Depot in Sutton Veny on the 10th of October where a medical board found him unfit for service.
Nicholas had been suffering from a persistent cough in Australia 2 years prior to his enlistment and his cough had worsened over the past 8 months and he was diagnosed with Fibrous Lungs.
Nicholas embarked for Australia on board HMAT A32 Themistocles on the 5th of November, spending Christmas 1917 on board the ship before disembarking in Adelaide on the 27th of December.
On arrival he was admitted into the 7th Australian General Hospital at Keswick and then transferred to the 17th Australian Auxiliary Hospital in Mitcham Camp on the 15th of January 1918 where he remained until the 14th of June 1918.
His medical diagnosis was Bronchitis and Emphysema.
Nicholas was discharged from the AIF, medically unfit, on the 28th of June 1918 and awarded the British War Medal.
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