Three: Lieutenant T. Nicholson, Royal Irish Regiment

1914 Star, with clasp (2. Lieut., R. Ir. Regt.); British War and Victory Medals (Lieut.) good very fine or better (3) £180-220

Lieutenant Thomas Nicholson received a gunshot wound and was taken prisoner of war on 20 October 1914 at Le Pilly, near Bethune.

Sold with eight pages of copied detail from his P.R.O. correspondence file. These include a detailed account written by him of the events leading up to his capture, from which the following is extracted:

‘On the 19th of October 1914, the battalion in which I was serving attacked and captured the village of Le Pilly. During the night of 19/20th this was put in a state of defence, and I was ordered to dig in. At dawn the fighting was renewed... I was badly wounded from behind and had my back torn open for about six or seven inches. As soon as I could collect myself, I immediately sent on the remaining few men, though they wished to remain and do what they could for me first...

I was incapable of movement at the time and suffering from loss of blood. In this position I remained till the Germans entered the village; I have no idea as to the hour of the day, but should estimate it as about 4pm. I was lying on my face, and lay quite still the whole time till dark, hoping to crawl out of the village and back to the British lines under cover of night. Several Germans passed quite close to me, but beyond hearing one of them curse me, no notice was taken of me, as they evidently considered me dead. At nightfall I attempted to get away and first tried to get out through the opening between the orchards. Progress was very slow and painful, and on reaching the ground immediately in front of the opening, I discovered a line of Germans waiting, as it seemed, for our counter-attack, should one be made. As I could not have got past them unseen, I crawled back intending to go round the large orchard via the railway, hoping the German lines would not extend this far. But on approaching I heard Germans talking together, and saw that too was useless as a way of escape.

My strength was by now exhausted and I thought it of no use waiting till the morning as I could not move in daylight. So seeing a light in a cottage at the junction of the railway and main road I made towards it, as my thirst was unendurable any longer. But though resting frequently I could not reach it, and after some time attracted the attention of two Germans who passed close to me. I asked them for water, which they gave me and then carried me into the cottage, where I found our own doctor (Mr D. Jackson) who bound me up, and told me that I could not have survived the night in the open, nor should I have got as far as the British lines even had I got out of the village, owing to weakness and exhaustion.’

Nicholson was repatriated on 16 August 1918 having spent nearly the entire war in captivity. In February 1918 he was transferred from Germany to an internment camp in Holland. A ‘Charge Sheet’ in his correspondence file gives details of the following offence ‘26 March 1918, Being in a drunken condition outside Hotel Royal, awarded one weeks confinement in a special internment camp.’