The Citadel Class of: 1912 Nicholls_luckybag1914unse_0168_portrait_only_watermarked
Photo source: Findagrave.com (added by "Misty and Company")

Panel 3, Loos Memorial. Photo source: Findagrave.com (added by “Misty and Company”)

 

Cadet Company: D (Source: Sphinx 1909)
Age: 23
Born: 1-Dec-91
Hometown: Spartanburg, South Carolina
Family: George Williams Nicholls (father), Mary “Minnie”
Lavinia Jones Nicholls (mother), Sam J. Nicholls
(brother); Kate B. Nicholls, Lattie Lee Nicholls (sisters)
Rank: Second Lieutenant
Branch of Service: British Army
Servicenumber: not available
Entered the Service from: London, England
Function: Lieutenant of Artillery
Regiment:
Battalion: 43rd Brigade
Division: Royal Field Artillery
Company: 30th Battery
Unit:
Date of death: 26-Sep-15
Status: KIA
Place of death: Battle of Loos, France
Spot: not available
Awards: not available
Gravenumber: Panel 3, Tablets of the Missing, Loos Memorial
Cemetery: CWGC Dud Corner Cemetery, Loos-en-Gohelle, France
Biography: The Spartanburg Herald, October 1, 1915, p.1. (Obituary)
Other information: Member of the Relay team, member of Calliopean Literary Society.
Source: Sphinx 1909

Lt. Nicholls received an appointment to Annapolis during his sophomore year at The Citadel and entered the
United States Naval Academy as a member of the class of 1914 at the start of the academic year 1910-1911.
He left the USNA six weeks before graduation to read law at his father’s law firm. (various sources)

2nd Class Athletic Representative at USNA
Source: 1913 Lucky Bag, p. 201

Panel 13 in the stained glass facade window of The Citadel’s Summerall Chapel memorializes Lt. Nicholls. In
the panel is the young David rescuing the lamb from the wild beast (I Samuel 17:34-35. WILLIAM MONTAGUE
NICHOLLS, ex-cadet, 1912.) While visiting England in 1914, Mr. Nicholls joined the British Army, was promoted
to lieutenant and was killed at the Battle of The Somme.
Source: The Citadel Christian Heritage Foundation)

TABLET OF BRONZE COMES FROM KING
– Commemorates Valor of Spartanburg Boy –
– RECEIVED BY FATHER –
King Edward Sends Memorial in Honor of Lieut. William Montague Nicholls
Special to The State Spartanburg, April 29 – Judge George W. Nicholls of this city has received from King George
of England a beautiful bronze tablet presented by the royal family of England in grateful recognition of the valiant
service rendered by Lieut. William Montague Nicholls, son of Judge Nicholls, who had laid down his life in his
majesty’s service on the battlefield of France. Accompanying the bronze tablet is a letter from King George, which
contains the following message:
“Buckingham Palace.
“I join with my grateful people in sending you this memorial of a brave life given for other in the great war.
(Signed) “George, R.1.” The bronze tablet is beautifully designed and bears the inscription, “He died for
freedom and honor.” The tablet also bears the name, “William Montague Nicholls.” Engraved on the bronze is the
figure of a woman, arm extended, a laurel wreath held in her hand. This memorial has elicited much admiration
from those who have been privileged to see it.
William Montague Nicholls, youngest son of Judge and Mrs. George W. Nicholls, enlisted under the British flag
and served with conspicuous gallantry as a lieutenant of artillery. He was killed in action early in 1916 [sic], being
one of the few Americans who gave their lives in the service of the British government, and the memorial received
by Judge and Mrs. Nicholls is believed one of the first received in the United States from the king of England.
Source: The State, Columbia, S.C., April 30, 1921, p. 6,1.

Sources: American Battle Monuments Commission, The Citadel Archive & Museum, Mike Stannard ’65, Steve Smith ’84, Kevin Bristol ’92, Findagrave.com, Ancestry.com, flickr.com, Richland County Public Library, NY Times 1 Oct. 1915, USNA “Lucky Bag” years 1911/1913/1914, Commonwealth War Graves Commission, Ancestry.com, 1910 US Census (NARA), The Sphinx 1909, US Naval Academy Nimitz Library, International Findagrave.com

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