"On the 21st May 1940, Lance Corporal Nicholls was commanding a
section in the right-forward platoon of his company when the company was
ordered to counter-attack. At the very start of the advance he was
wounded in the arm by shrapnel, but continued to lead his section
forward; as the company came over a small ridge, the enemy opened heavy
machine-gun fire at close range. Lance Corporal Nicholls, realizing the danger to the company,
immediately seized a Bren gun and dashed forward towards the
machine-guns, firing from the hip. He succeeded in silencing first one
machine-gun and then two other machine-guns, in spite of being again
severely wounded. Lance-Corporal Nicholls then went on up to a higher piece of
ground and engaged the German infantry massed behind, causing many
casualties, and continuing to fire until he had no more ammunition left. He was wounded at least four times in all, but absolutely refused
to give in. There is no doubt that his gallant action was instrumental
in enabling his company to reach its objective, and in causing the enemy
to fall back across the River Scheldt. Lance-corporal Nicholls has since been reported to have been killed in action."
From LCpl. Nicholls' Victoria Cross citation, awarded on 31st July, 1940.
May you be at peace,
Brian
No comments:
Post a Comment