NICHOLAS, George Matson
| Service Number: | Officer |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 29 April 1915 |
| Last Rank: | Captain |
| Last Unit: | 24th Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | Coleraine, Victoria, Australia, 3 November 1887 |
| Home Town: | Trafalgar, Baw Baw, Victoria |
| Schooling: | St Patrick's (Catholic) College, Ballarat, Melbourne University, Victoria, Australia |
| Occupation: | High School Teacher |
| Died: | Killed In Action, France, 14 November 1916, aged 29 years |
| Cemetery: |
AIF Burial Ground, Grass Lane, Flers, France IV H 27 |
| Memorials: | Gormandale East State School HR, Trafalgar War Memorial |
World War 1 Service
| 29 Apr 1915: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Captain, Officer, 24th Infantry Battalion |
|---|
Major George ‘Matson’ Nicholas DSO, MiD
Biography from AWM
Rix Nicholas drew this portrait of her new husband two days after their wedding on 9 October 1916.
The eldest of six brothers, George or ‘Matson’ Nicholas (1887-1916) as he was known, was a school teacher before enlisting on 28 April 1915 and served on Gallipoli where he was wounded by shrapnel. On his recovery Matson re-joined his Battalion in France and won a Distinguished Service Order at Pozieres, single handedly capturing an enemy machine gun post. General Birdwood wrote to congratulate him; ‘Your action not only then, but on other occasions, has been beyond praise. And not only do I thank you most heartily for it, but feel proud at having such officers serving under me’. According to family legend Matson saw some of Hilda’s paintings in her abandoned studio while based in Etaples with his Battalion. On travelling to England on leave he tracked her down. Hilda and Matson were married on 7 October 1916 and honeymooned at Hindhead, Surrey. On returning to the Front Matson assumed command of the 24th Battalion and was killed in action at Flers on 14 November 1916.
Submitted 14 November 2019 by Evan Evans
Biography contributed by Faithe Jones
Son of Mr. J. P. and Mrs. M. E. Nicholas, of Sunshine, Victoria
Distinguished Service Order
'For conspicuous gallantry and initiative. having whilst on reconnaissance discovered a machine gun, Captain Nicholas went out again alone, and with great dash and initiative captured the gun.'
Source: 'Commonwealth Gazette' No. 62
Date: 19 April 1917
Biography contributed by Andreena Hockley
"Major George Matson Nicholas, son of Mr. J.P. Nicholas, of Trafalgar, and husband of Emily Hilda Rix, daughter of the late Henry Finch Rix, B.A., inspector of schools, was born in 1887.
He was an assistant teacher at School 1479, Brighton-road, St. Kilda, and one of the masters at the Melbourne Junior Technical School. He enlisted as a 2nd Lieutenant on the 28th of April, 1915, and embarked with the 24th Battalion on the transport Euripides on the 10th of May. He was promoted Lieutenant on the 26th of August while in Egypt, and proceeded with his unit to Gallipoli on the 30th. On the 12th of December, he was wounded and invalided to Egypt.
After the evacuation, he rejoined his Battalion at Tel-el-Kebir, served in the Canal Zone, and, on the 19th of March, 1916, went to France. He was promoted Captain on the 1st of April, and was awarded the D.S.O. at Pozières on the 5th of August. He was promoted Major on the 12th, and was killed on the 14th of November.
Deed for which the D.S.O. was awarded: "After the capture of the German trenches, a patrol commanded by Captain Nicholas found, on returning from a reconnaissance in front, that an enemy machine gun in a shell-hole had been seriously menacing our men in the front line. Captain Nicholas, as soon as he had located this gun, went out again alone, and by great dash and initiative succeeded in capturing the gun."
General Birdwood, in a personal letter, remarked: "Your action, not only then, but on other occasions, has been beyond praise, and not only do I thank you most heartily for it, but I feel proud at having such officers serving under me.""
Source: The Education Department's Record of War Service, Victoria, 1914-1919.
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