The Last Post Ceremony commemorating the service of (2394) Private John Littlejohn Nicol, 1st Pioneer Battalion, AIF, First World War.

The Last Post Ceremony is presented in the Commemorative area of the Australian War Memorial each day. The ceremony commemorates more than 102,000 Australians who have given their lives in war and other operations and whose names are recorded on the Roll of Honour. At each ceremony the story behind one of the names on the Roll of Honour is told. Hosted by Dennis Stockman, the story for this day was on (2394) Private John Littlejohn Nicol, 1st Pioneer Battalion, AIF, First World War.

2394 Private John Littlejohn Nicol, 1st Pioneer Battalion, AIF
DOW 23 October 1917

Today we remember and pay tribute to Private John Littlejohn Nicol,.

John Nicol was born in 1881 in Balclutha, on the South Island of New Zealand, to William and Jane Nicol. His father William was a clock maker, and as John grew up he became interested in all things mechanical. He studied optics, and went on to become an electrical and mechanical engineer. He married Flora Edith Flyger in 1908 in New Zealand, and in 1910 the couple emigrated to Australia, setting in the Sydney suburb of Lindfield, where they raised five children.
John enlisted in the 1st Australian Pioneers Battalion in late April 1916. After initial training at Moore Park in Sydney, he sailed for England on the transport ship Wiltshire in August. In England he undertook further training. At the beginning of 1917, he sailed for France, and proceeded to the front near Pozieres.

As a pioneer, John’s role was to construct trenches and strong points, lay wiring for communication, and maintain the battlefield infrastructure required by the Australian infantry. His former civilian life as an engineer aided him greatly in this role. In the trenches on the Western Front, pioneers and engineers performed vital services for the infantry, and often found themselves in the thick of the fighting.

In April 1917, John and his battalion worked alongside Canadian engineers to clear the roads in the area between Mametz and Bancourt, near Bapaume in northern France. At this time, the 1st Pioneers Battalion constructed a series of ammunition dugouts in the area, carefully camouflaging them to prevent discovery by enemy aircraft. The pioneers also dug out a new brigade headquarters that was seven metres below ground level at its deepest point.

In the middle of 1917, the 1st Pioneers Battalion moved north to the Ypres sector of the Western Front. At a small village, John visited a local church. The church’s bells had not rung since 1793, during the French Revolution. John offered to take a look at them, and within three days, had them ringing again.

In October, John and his battalion worked on road construction near Ypres to allow the Australian artillery to reach their positions. They were also working on clearing the main road from Ypres to Zonnebeke, which had been almost destroyed by heavy shelling, so that the rest of the army could advance on German positions.

The working parties were under constant bombardment. On the 23rd of October 1917, John was hit by a shell fragment, and later died of his wounds. He was 35 years old.

He is buried at Lijssenthoek Military Cemetery in Belgium, alongside 9,900 other Commonwealth soldiers. He was survived by his widow Flora and their five children. Unable to visit Belgium to see his grave, Flora treasured the three photographs of it that she received from army authorities.

Private John Littlejohn Nicol is listed on the Roll of Honour on my right, among more than 60,000 Australians who died while serving in the First World War.

This is but one of the many stories of service and sacrifice told here at the Australian War Memorial. We now remember Private John Littlejohn Nicol, who gave his life for us, for our freedoms, and in the hope of a better world.

Thomas Rogers
Historian, Military History Section