Have You a Tiger In Your Family?

Rank : Lieutenant Colonel

Army Number : 62873

Unit : 2nd Bn, Royal 1st Bn

Biography :

Educated at Haileybury College and Clare College (Cambridge), 'Spike' Nicholls was commissioned 2nd Lt in The Leicestershire Regiment on 1.2.1934. and served the next 10 years in 2nd Bn. Promoted Lieutenant 1.2.1937. Served in Palestine 1939 and was Mention in Despatches for his work as a Platoon Commander (L.G. 22.12.1939). Later served in North Africa, Crete, Syria, Ceylon, and India in World War Two. Awarded the M.C. as a Company Commander in Crete 1941 (L.G. 4.11.1941). Attended the Staff College at Quetta in 1944, and then, on its recovery from the Chindit campaign, he commanded the 2nd Bn from 1.9.1944 to 5.1945. After the was he served on the staff of British Combined Operations HQ, then as an instructor at the School of Infantry BAOR and at the Small Arms School at Hythe in Kent. Brigade Major, HQ 2nd Brigade, Arab Legion, Jordan, 1951-53, for which service he was awarded The Order of El Istiqlal (Third Class) in 1954. Promoted Lieutenant Colonel and CO of 1st R Leicesters on 28.6.1956 in Cyprus and awarded the O.B.E. for his performance there, Jun 1956-Jul 1958 (L.G. 20.9.1958). He retired from the Army in 1959 and joined the Steel Federation and then Patent Shaft Steelworks. He held several positions in the CBI before retiring in 1976. He was a notable sportsman, and in his younger days had been a fine rugby player. He died in 1997, aged 85 years.
There is a brass memorial plaque to his memory in the Regimental Chapel in Leicester Cathedral.

This page was last edited on 11.6.2019.

Date of Birth : c1912

Date of Death : April 1997

Civil Occupation : steel industry

Period of Service : 1934-59

Conflicts : WW2, Cyprus Emergency

Places Served : Palestine, North Africa, Crete, Syria, Ceylon, India, Jordan, Cyprus