314211 2nd Lieutenant John Robert Nicholson OBE "Nick"
314211 2nd Lieutenant John Robert "Nick" Nicholson was born on 15th June 1923 in Devizes, Wiltshire;
the son of George Tracey and Eileen Dorothy May (née Slade) Nicholson.
On 12th August 1923 Nick was baptised at Trowbridge, St James with St Stephen.
At the outbreak of World War 2, he was working as a Butcher's Assistant. The 1939 Register of England and
Wales, recorded on 29th September 1939, lists him as living at 53 Green Road, Reading, Berkshire.
At the age of 18, in 1941, Nick enlisted with the Wiltshire Regiment.
On Saturday 13th May 1944, having already joined the Parachute Regiment, Nick married Iris Burt at
St Mary's Church, Chelmsford, Essex. Assisting with the officiation of the ceremony was Rev. A. C. Reynolds
(brother-in-law) of the bride, and his best man was his close friend
314180 2nd Lieutenant Richard
de Courcy Peele.
After successfully completing Parachute Course 113 from 24th April to 7th May 1944, he
was posted to the 11th Parachute Battalion: Company A; Commander of Platoon 2; HQ Section.
Nick's promotion and posting were listed in The London Gazette, dated 2 June 1944, alongside 314180 2nd
Lieutenant Richard de Courcy Peele, with whom he had completed his Parachute Course.
Together with the other members of the 11th Battalion, he was deployed on Operation Market
Garden and fought at the Battle of Arnhem in September 1944.
On 25th September, in the midst of the
fighting he was captured and taken prisoner of war. He was held at Oflag 9A/H, Spangenberg bei Kassel, Germany
and given POW number 2158 until finally, on 1st May 1945, Nick was repatriated to the UK.
After returning to the UK, Nick continued to serve in the Parachute Regiment in the Far East before being
demobilised, following which he trained as a teacher.
After completing his teacher training and spending 2 years working as a teacher in Coggeshall, Essex,
Nick decided to rejoin the Army.
He served in Egypt and Cyprus before joining The Royal Army Education Corps. By 1957, he had reached the rank of
Captain and, on Tuesday, 23 July 1957 was appointed as a member of the Most Excellent Order of the British
Empire.
On 3rd May 1958 Nick joined the Intelligence Corps, in the rank of Captain. In 1963 he was promoted
to Major and on 31st December 1971 to the rank of Lieutenant Colonel.
On 1st January 1973 Lieutenant-Colonel John Robert Nicholson M.B.E. (314211), Intelligence Corps was
appointed as Officer of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire, becoming Lieutenant-Colonel John Robert
Nicholson O.B.E. When he was made OBE, rather than return his MBE medal he loaned it to
The Military Intelligence Museum.
On 15th June 1973 Nick was appointed to the Special List.
On 15th December 1976, he retired on retired pay after completing a career that had begun in 1941.
However after retiring from the regular army he held the Soldier Manning post in the Intelligence Corps
Directorate as a civilian, holding this post until 1993 when he finally retired.
Sadly he died in October 1996 in Canterbury, Kent
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