Capt William Nickson

• Age: 36
• From: Birkenhead, Cheshire
• Regiment: The King's (Liverpool Regiment) 19th Btn
• K.I.A Sunday 30th July 1916
• Commemorated at: Serre Rd No 2 Cem, B-hamel
  Panel Ref: XXXIV.N.3

William Nickson was born in Birkenhead in the third quarter of 1880, the son of Henry Reaburn Nickson and his wife Emily Armstrong (nee Lightfoot). His parents married on the 19th April 1865 at St John the Baptist, Toxteth Park. Henry was a 24 year old shipwright of 315 Mill Street, father Nicholas also a shipwright, whilst Emily was aged 19 of 29 Beresford Rd, and father James a gentleman. William was the sixth of seven children. 

The 1881 Census shows the family living at 5 Harland Road, Tranmere.

The father Henry is a Shipwright (Foreman) born in Liverpool in 1841, whilst his mother Emily was born in Liverpool in 1846. William is a new born child and has 5 siblings; Sarah b.1866, Mary Emily b.1868, Alice Annie b.1871, Henry R b.1874, and George J. b 1876. 
 
By 1891 the family have moved to 32 Clifton Road, Birkenhead.

William is now aged 10 and a scholar. Father Henry is aged 50, still a Shipwright (Foreman), mother Emily is aged 45, children Sarah 25, a draper’s assistant, Mary E. 23, a telegraphist,  Alice. A. 20, a railway clerk, Henry R. 17, a shipping clerk, and George J. 15, a scholar. The family is added to by a younger brother Edward b.1885 and there is also a Servant shown as living in the household. 
 
 
The 1901 Census shows the family at 32 Clifton Road.

William is now 20 years of age and is shown to be a clerk at a Provision Merchants. Father Henry is aged 60, still a Shipwright (Foreman), mother Emily is aged 55, children Sarah 35, a drapers assistant, Alice A. 30, Henry 27, a shipping clerk, and Edward 16. There is also a servant present.  

William was educated at Liverpool Institute and attended Liverpool University.

From 1901-1905 he was in the 1st Volunteer Battalion Cheshire Regiment. 

His father was keen sketcher and he entered many local competitions. His “Mrs Simpkins” appeared in the newspaper in 1906. 

Liverpool Evening Express - Tuesday 27 February 1906 

We here reproduce the winning pictorial representations of Mr. George Robey's apocryphal friend Mrs. Simpkins, who is so frequently referred to in the Royal Court Theatre pantomime of "The Queen of Hearts." The winner of the First Prize, as decided by the ballot of the audiences last week, is Mr. Alfred H. Dutton, 31, Great Charlotte-street, Liverpool; while the winner of the Second Prize is Mr. William Nickson, 32, Clifton-road, Birkenhead. No fewer than 150 drawings were entered for competition. 

His mother Emily died aged 62 on the 29th January 1909 and was buried on the 1st February at Toxteth Cemetery. (see probate 1919)  

He was employed by Simpson, Robert's & Co. The business was founded in 1880 by William Muirhead Simpson and Frank Roberts. By 1910 they were located at 46 Stanley Street, Liverpool. The company became the world famous Princes Company. It was established as a fish importing business in Liverpool, the city where its international headquarters are still located today, at the Royal Liver Building. Initially, the company expanded into new markets including the import of canned and ambient foods from around the world. 

The 1911 Census shows William, aged 30 as a Provisions agent, boarding with the Patterson family at 107 University Street, Cromac, Antrim.

His father, 70, describing himself as a gentleman, retired shipwright, is still at 32 Clifton Road, with three of his children at home, and a domestic servant.  Sarah 45, has no occupation, Henry, 37, is a freight clerk for a steamship owner, and Edward, 26, is a shipbuilder’s engineer.

He enlisted in Liverpool as a Private 21580 on the 7th Sept 1914 in the 19th Battalion, The King’s Liverpool Regiment and was promoted to Sergeant 2 days later. He was gazetted(incorrectly as Hickson) Temp. 2/Lt dated 19th January 1915, and was commissioned Captain on the 18th September 1915(no gazette entry found). He crossed to France in November 1915 as Second in Command of No.2 Company. He is not mentioned in the 19th Battalion War Diary until his death in action, but it is presumed that he served through the early fighting of the Somme battle. He was killed in action during the Battle of Guillemont on 30th July 1916, aged 36. 

The Battalion’s objectives on the day were the German Trenches on the South Eastern edge of Guillemont, which was a heavily fortified village on top of a gentle slope, with a front of about seven hundred yards. Each end of the front was also defended by Machine-guns, which could give covering and enfilading fire. The line of attack was entirely without cover. The 19th Battalion was on the left flank of the 89th Brigade advance, which began at 04.45 am, in a thick and heavy fog. 

As the Battalion moved forward in the fog, it was heavily shelled with High Explosive and gas shells, which added to the confusion and consequent loss of direction. Despite this, the edge of the village was reached, but the 19th was unable to link up with the Battalion on its left, the 2nd Royal Scots and found both its flanks in the air. During that period the fog lifted to a large extent, but that allowed the German Machine Gunners a clear field of fire, and their numbers were augmented by Infantrymen and snipers who had left their trenches to lie in No Man’s Land to shelter from the British bombardment on their front line trenches.

They too, were able to take a heavy toll of the 19th Battalion, who were lying exposed, and by noon, the Battalion had been forced to evacuate its positions. By the end of the day, nine officers and one hundred and eighty four other ranks had been killed or died of wounds.

Captain Nickson was recorded as being wounded and missing. He was aged thirty six.

The events of 30^th July 1916 were regarded at the time as Liverpool’s blackest day. There follows an extract from The History of the 89^th Brigade written by Brigadier General Ferdinand Stanley which gives an indication of the events of the day.

Guillemont

Well the hour to advance came, and of all bad luck in the world it was a thick fog; so thick that you couldn’t see more than about ten yards. It was next to impossible to delay the attack – it was much too big an operation- so forward they had to go. It will give some idea when I say that on one flank we had to go 1,750 yards over big rolling country. Everyone knows what it is like to cross enclosed country which you know really well in a fog and how easy it is to lose your way. Therefore, imagine these rolling hills, with no landmarks and absolutely unknown to anyone. Is it surprising that people lost their way and lost touch with those next to them? As a matter of fact, it was wonderful the way in which many men found their way right to the place we wanted to get to. But as a connected attack it was impossible.

The fog was intense it was practically impossible to keep direction and parties got split up. Owing to the heavy shelling all the Bosches had left their main trenches and were lying out in the open with snipers and machine guns in shell holes, so of course our fellows were the most easy prey.

It is so awfully sad now going about and finding so many splendid fellows gone.   

A newspaper report in the Liverpool Daily Post on 08th August 1916 advised that William was Missing and contained information on his service:

CAPTAIN NICKSON MISSING

"Captain William Nickson, of the "Pals" is reported wounded and missing. He is the son of Mr H.R.Nickson of 32 Clifton-road, Birkenhead. He joined the regiment in 1914 as a Private. He was soon promoted to Sergeant and received his commission in January 1915, and became Captain the following September. Before joining the Army he was in the employ of Messrs Simpson, Roberts and Co. Stanley Street, Liverpool and was their representative in Ireland for some years".  

His brother, Henry, contacted the International Red Cross but was informed in a reply dated 22nd September 1916 that they held no information on William.  

On 02nd September 1916 the Birkenhead News, in an update, reported, 

“No news has been received respecting Captain W. Nickson, of the King’s Liverpool Regiment, reported missing some weeks ago, and naturally the gravest fears for his safety are felt by his relatives and many friends in Birkenhead.  The Captain was an intimate regimental friend of the late Captain Walter Willmer, and was posted as missing a few days after the latter was killed whilst leading his men against the enemy trenches.  Captain Nickson was an accomplished artist and his name will be familiar to “News” readers as the creator of numerous fine cartoons, political and local, which were reproduced in this journal at frequent intervals between the years 1906-11.  In the latter year Mr. Nickson, as he then was, left Birkenhead for Belfast but even after that he drew several cartoons the subjects of which were suggested to him.  It cannot be doubted that the powerful and telling work of the “News” cartoonist contributed materially to the Liberal victories of 1906 and January, 1910.  Captain Nickson’s numerous friends and admirers still hope that good news may be received respecting him.”

His ICRC card includes a notation of a statement regarding William by Cpl. Pryer 11423 at Langensalza POW camp, “believed killed”.  This was communicated to the family on 15th December 1916. (George Pryer, M.M., of the 1st Bn. K.L.R., a regular soldier before the war, had arrived in France on 12/08/1914 and was captured at Guillemont a week after William, on 08/08/1916, with bullet wounds to the head, shoulder, and stomach.  He was repatriated through Holland in October 1918.)

The Birkenhead News on 05th September 1917 reported on an exhibition of the Liverpool Sketching Club at the club rooms in Dale Street.  Among the exhibits “is a cartoon by a former member, Captain William Nickson, a clever artist whose cartoons appeared in the “News” before he left the district […].”

William was buried in an isolated grave close to where he fell as an “Unknown British Captain” of the King’s Regiment. His body (about 5’ 11” tall) was exhumed on 12th January 1931, and identified by his officer’s tunic and breeches, and King’s regimental buttons.  His Aquascutum trench coat with three stars on the epaulette, pieces of ankle boots made by F. H. Fleming, general service leather equipment with officer’s revolver holster, and a fork marked ‘-W’ confirmed his identity. 

Evidently his body was not found for a long time after the end of the war and he was listed as having no known grave as his name was inscribed on the Memorial to the Missing of the Somme at Thiepval.

However, at some stage after this memorial was completed and unveiled by the Prince of Wales in 1932, his remains must have been discovered and he was re buried in Serre Road Cemetery No2, some ten miles from where he was killed. This latter Cemetery was still open at this time for burials from all over the Somme Battlefield area. The Commonwealth War Graves Commission admits that a mistake must have been made in the original register for the Thiepval Memorial, which was complied before 1930, as their Master Register for the Memorial, records that he had a known grave in Serre Road Cemetery No2.

In June 1916, the road out of Mailly-Maillet to Serre and Puisieux entered No Man's Land about 1,300 metres south-west of Serre. On 1 July 1916, the 31st and 4th Divisions attacked north and south of this road and although parties of the 31st Division reached Serre, the attack failed. The 3rd and 31st Divisions attacked once more on the 13 November, but again without success.

Early in 1917, the Germans fell back to the Hindenburg Line and on 25 February, Serre was occupied by the 22nd Manchesters. The village changed hands once more in March 1918 and remained under German occupation, until they withdrew in August.

In the spring of 1917, the battlefields of the Somme and Ancre were cleared by V Corps and a number of new cemeteries were made, three of which are now named from the Serre Road. Serre Road Cemetery No.2 was begun in May 1917 and by the end of the war it contained approximately 475 graves (Plots I and II, except for Row E, Plot II which was added in 1922 and Row AA, Plot I which was added in 1927), but it was greatly enlarged after the Armistice by the addition of further graves from the surrounding area.

There are now 7,127 Commonwealth burials of the First World War in the cemetery, mostly dating from 1916. Of these, 4,944 are unidentified.

The cemetery, which was not completed until 1934, was designed by Sir Edwin Lutyens.

His Officer’s file at Kew reveals a few testimonies to the circumstances of his death. They are kindly sourced to us by Emeritus Professor Mike Durey of Murdoch University, Perth, Australia. (see FirstWorldWarBritishOfficers.com) 

Father to War Office, 24 March 1917: “I have made numerous enquiries from individual soldiers and through other sources; and whilst I have received direct evidence that my son was wounded early in the engagement, no one appears to know what ultimately became of him, although most of the men think he must have been killed later in the day. On the other hand, Corporal R. Enright No 21758 19th KLR writes from Gefangenenlager, Lengensalz, Saxony, that ‘Captain Nickson was taken a prisoner’ but he does not give any further particulars.”  

War Office to father, 3 April 1917: “Enright must be wrong as you would have heard by now. POWs not prevented from writing.” 

Statement by former POW 17338 Pte Samuel James Gilbert, 1st Platoon A Coy 19th KLR, 26 February 1919: “It was on July 30, 1916, we were at Guillemont and Capt. Nixon (sic) was in command of our Company. At about 7am we were surrounded by Germans. I was taken prisoner. Capt Nickson was captured and as I passed him, I saw a German shoot him because he refused to give up his revolver. I do not know that he had been wounded before and I cannot say anything about his burial”. Eye-witness: “Yes”. Description: “Very tall, dark moustache, middle-aged. Very popular with all the men in the Battalion. Came from Birkenhead.” 

Second statement by Gilbert, 20 May 1919: “In relating to the death of Capt Nickson, all that I know was Capt Nickson being fired at by a German officer but I cannot certify that he was killed immediately, as I was then taken prisoner myself.” 

War Office to H R Nickson, 4 June 1919: statement by Gilbert, “ ‘I saw Captain Nickson fired at by a German officer but I cannot certify that he was killed immediately as I was then taken prisoner’. I am to state that although this evidence is not conclusive, it strengthens the presumption that Captain Nickson did not survive.” 

In the Liverpool Echo, on 30th July 1917 under the heading ‘Lost At The Battle of Guillemont’ a notice was placed to mark a years since his passing:

“July 30, 1916, previously reported wounded and missing, now officially reported killed in action, Captain William Nickson, K.L.R. (Pals), third son of Mr. H. R. Nickson, 32, Clifton Road, Birkenhead.”

Probate was granted to his sister Sarah on 06th September 1917, she also received his £115 pay and £8 war gratuity. 

NICKSON William of 32 Clifton Road Birkenhead captain 19th Battalion Liverpool Regiment died on or since 30 July 1916 in France Probate Chester 6 September to Sarah Nickson spinster. Effects £739 6s 1d. 

William is commemorated on the following Memorials:

Birkenhead Cenotaph

Liverpool Institute

Liverpool University 

Liverpool’s Hall of Remembrance, Panel 19

He is also commemorated on the family grave in Toxteth Park Cemetery, Liverpool, underneath the names of his maternal grandparents, (The Lightfoot Family) and his parents, the inscription simply states:

ALSO CAPTAIN WILLIAM NICKSON, 19TH K. L. R., SON OF THE ABOVE, KILLED IN ACTION FRANCE JULY 30TH 1916, AGED 36 YEARS.

His father died aged 78 on the 4th March 1919. 

Liverpool Evening Express - Saturday 08 March 1919 

NICKSON - March 4 at 32 Clifton Road, Birkenhead in his 79th year, Henry Reaburn Nickson. Interment at Smithdown Road Cemetery at 12 noon, on Monday next, the 10th inst, Friends please the accept this, the only, intimation. (No flowers by request.)  

Probates 1919:- 

NICKSON Henry Reaburn of 32 Clifton Road Birkenhead died 4 March 1919 Probate London 10 May to Sarah Nickson spinster and Henry Reaburn Nickson freight manager. Effects £5215 18s 10d. 

NICKSON Emily Armstrong (wife of Henry Reaburn Nickson) of 32 Clifton Road, Tranmere Birkenhead died 29 January 1909 Administration London 29 April to Henry Reaburn Nickson freight manager. Effects £260. 

His brother George James died just a couple of years after William’s body was found in France. 

Liverpool Daily Post - Tuesday 08 August 1933 

NICKSON - August 5, suddenly at Cheam, Surrey, aged 57 years, GEORGE JAMES, second son of the late H. R. and E. A. Nixon of 32 Clifton Road, Birkenhead. Interment at Bebington Cemetery, tomorrow (Wednesday) at 2 p.m. (No flowers by request.) 

We currently have no further information on William Nickson, If you have or know someone who may be able to add to the history of this soldier, please contact us.