1615 Lance Sergeant
John Charles Joseph Nicholls
1885 – 1915

Researched and compiled by Pam Turner

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Family History

John Charles Joseph Nicholls was born in Lichfield, Staffs in December 1885; he was the son of Joseph and Cecilia Louisa Nicholls nee Holloway. When John was christened on 16th February 1886 at Christ Church Lichfield, his father was described as a labourer and the family were living in Leomansley, an area of Lichfield which is situated on the left hand side of the Walsall Road just before you reach Lichfield itself.

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Joseph Nicholls and Cecilia Louise Holloway were married by Licence on the 20th October 1875 at St. Peter’s Church, Walsall, Staffordshire. Joseph was aged 21 and living in Wolverhampton Street, Walsall; Cecilia was also 21 and listed as living in Burntwood. Their respective fathers were George Nicholls a Labourer and Richard Holloway a Farmer. The marriage licence was obtained 4 days before on 16th October at Walsall.

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The Nicholls Family

Joseph Nicholls was born in Lichfield around the middle of 1852, he was the youngest son of 8 children born to George Nicholls and Elizabeth Tomlinson; he was christened at Christ Church, Lichfield on 27th June 1852, the address given was Sandford Street and George was listed as a Labourer.

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George Nicholls was born in Lichfield circa 1817; at the moment it is not known who his parents were as no christening record can be found that matches. On the 28th June 1837 George married Elizabeth Tomlinson at St Chad’s Church in Lichfield, the marriage register doesn’t give any details of the fathers due to the date being before civil registration started, if it had taken place just 3 months later it is more than likely it would have stated the father’s name for both parties.

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After their marriage, George and Elizabeth made their home in Sandford Street, Lichfield where they raised their family. Elizabeth gave birth to 8 children in all, however two died as infants. The eldest child was George (1838) then Charlotte (1840 – 1841), Mary (1842), Elizabeth (1844), Joseph (1846 - 1847), Edward (1848), Ellen (1850) and finally Joseph (1852). In the census returns for 1841, 1851 and 1861, George’s occupation changes from an Agricultural Labourer to a Gardener to a Labourer.

In 1867, George’s wife Elizabeth died at the age of 49 and in the following census of 1871 George is listed as a widower with the address given as Flowers Row which was very close to Sandford Street. Living with George were two of his children, Edward and Joseph, who was listed as aged 18 and a Labourer the same as his father

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The Holloway Family

Cecelia Louise Holloway was born around July 1854 and was the daughter of Richard Holloway and Hannah Louisa Fowler; she was christened at St Michael’s Church Lichfield on 6th August 1854. Richard’s occupation was a Cabinet Maker and their address was given as Walsall.

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Richard Holloway was possibly born in Woodstock, Oxfordshire around 1822, although that cannot be proved. Richard married Hannah Louisa Fowler on 1st January 1853 at St Mary’s Church, Lichfield; his residence at the time was given as Walsall. According to the marriage record Richard’s father’s name was Thomas and he was an agent. There is a christening record of a Richard Holloway on 10th November 1822 at Kiddington, Oxfordshire parents Thomas and Sarah which could be the right person; Kiddington was very near to Woodstock but more research would need to be done to establish if it was correct.

It appears that Richard made the move from Oxfordshire to Staffordshire prior to 1841 as the census of that year lists him as an apprentice Cabinet Maker living in Sandford Street, Lichfield; his employer was a William Norman. In 1851, just prior to his marriage, Richard was living in Walsall as a lodger with a Sarah Larkin; his occupation was given as a Cabinet Maker so he had obviously served his apprenticeship and had a job in the Walsall area.

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After their marriage, Richard and Hannah initially made their home in Walsall where the following year Hannah gave birth to Cecilia Louisa. Another daughter called Annie Elizabeth was born in Walsall around the end of July 1856, sadly Annie died the following year. As far as I can ascertain, the couple did not have any more children. After their spell of living in Walsall, Richard, Hannah and Cecilia relocated to live in Lichfield and, by 1871, Richard had changed occupation and had become the Inn Keeper at the “Shoulder of Mutton”; in that year, Cecilia was listed as aged 16 and a Seamstress.
The Shoulder of Mutton Inn stood at the crossroads of the London Road and Rykneild Street, now known as Cricket Lane, and dates back to the 1700’s. For centuries the shoulder of mutton’s position was ideal for travellers and waggons that used Rykneild Street as a by pass for Lichfield. {Extract from The Old Pubs of Lichfield by John Shaw}

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John Charles Joseph Nicholls

Early Life

After John’s parents Richard and Cecilia got married in 1873, they made their home in Lichfield, firstly living in Flowers Row, just off Sandford Street. In February 1876 Cecilia gave birth to the couple’s first son Richard Cecil and three years later in 1879 a daughter was added to the family; she was christened Alice Elizabeth in October 1879. In 1881 Joseph, Cecilia and their two children were listed on the census as living at the back of Sandford Street, Lichfield. Joseph was a farm labourer, and also living with the family was Joseph’s widowed father George.

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In the middle part of 1882 Cecilia gave birth to a son who was called Joseph George; sadly Joseph only lived until he was 2 years old. In June 1884 the little boy was buried at Christ Church, Lichfield, his cause of death is not known. Another two years later, in 1886, John Charles Joseph was born. This was followed in 1888 by the birth of another daughter, she was christened Cecilia Helen. In 1891 the Nicholls family were listed on the census living in Leomansley together with their four children and Joseph’s father George. John was listed as aged 5 and a scholar.

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A little later in the same year on August 29th 1891 Cecilia gave birth to another son Frederick James; he was christened in December at Christ Church Lichfield and he appears to be the last child born to the couple.

In 1901 the census shows us that Joseph and Cecilia were still living in Leomansley together with their three youngest children John, Helen and Frederick. John was listed as aged 15 and a Printer’s Assistant. Joseph’s father George, who by this time was aged 87 and retired, was also still living with the family.

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Joseph and Cecilia’s eldest son Richard Cecil appears to have enlisted with the North Staffs Regiment in April 1893, which probably explains why he does not appear on any census in 1901. Their eldest daughter Alice Elizabeth got married on 29th January 1898 to a Joseph T Bayliss; she was just 18 years old. In the 1901 census, Alice and Joseph Bayliss were living in Lower Sandford Street with their two children; Joseph was listed as a Groom.

In 1911 the Nicholls family were listed living at 36 Leomansley in a house that had three rooms; according to Richard Cecil’s army documents, the house was called Primrose Cottage. Living with Joseph and Cecilia in this year were just their two younger sons John Charles Joseph, who was a Corporation labourer working for the Council, and Frederick who was working for L & NW Railways. Their youngest daughter Cecilia Helen was listed on the census for 1911 as a nurse at Burntwood Asylum; she was aged 23 and unmarried. In 1911, the eldest son Richard Cecil was living in Lichfield Road Brownhills with his wife Georgina whom he had married in 1905; the couple had three children.

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Enlistment

At the end of January 1912, John Charles Joseph Nicholls signed up with the 2/6th Battalion of the North Staffs Regiment; he was aged 26 years and I month and his occupation was given as a labourer with Lichfield City Council. His attestation form shows that John agreed to a term of four years service. On the medical inspection report, his height was listed as 5ft 10¾ inches, chest measurement was 38½ inches and his vision and physical development were both good.

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Two extracts from the Attestation Papers of John Charles Joseph Nicholls.

The North Staffs Regiment was also known as the “Prince of Wales’s Regiment” and the 2/6th was a Battalion in the Territorial Force. The normal term of service was 4 years plus an extra year if they embodied for potential active service. John was embodied from the Lichfield Territorials into the 1/6th Battalion Burton Company on the 5th August 1914 which was just a week after WW1 started; this was the day that all territorial units were embodied. It was also on this day that John was promoted from private to Lance Corporal and his battalion then moved to Luton for training.

{Lance corporal is a military rank, used by many armed forces worldwide, it is below the rank of corporal, and is typically the lowest non-commissioned officer. The badge of rank is a one-bar chevron worn on both sleeves, or on an epaulette on the front of the Combat dress standard. In WW1, a L/Cpl was responsible for a section or a tent or other small group of men and it was his duty to make sure the men carried out their individual duties of washing, shaving and polishing their boots. A L/Cpl would also be responsible for reporting a man sick or seeing that the man did so himself and would report him missing before muster parade. There were many peculiarities in the army and the duties of a lance corporal were among the least transparent, the most frustrating part of his appointment was that he could lose it because one of his men did something, if a man was charged with not having shaved or not made his bed up properly he could get the chop as well. A successful lance corporal on promotion to corporal had generally learned quite a bit about handling men. (Extract from Great War Forum http://1914-1918.invisionzone.com/forums)}

France and Flanders

On 3rd October 1914, John was promoted to Corporal and just over one month later he moved with his Battalion to Bishops Stortford in Hertfordshire where he remained until the spring of the following year. On 3rd March 1915, John embarked at Southampton and the following day disembarked at Le Havre in France and proceeded to a rest camp where the battalion remained for a few days.

On 8th March, the battalion moved to Ochtezeele a village in Northern France where they billeted and the following day they marched south with the brigade to Borre where they again billeted,; two days later they marched south again via Strazeele and Estaires to Laventie where they remained for 4 days.

On 16th March, the North Stafford’s marched northwards to Moolenacker just north of Merris where they were inspected by the Commander in Chief. After a couple of days in billets they then marched with the brigade to Ballieul and Erquinghem where they billeted and remained until 24th March; during this time the officers and men underwent a trench instructional course. Afterwards the battalion then returned to Moolenacker where they billeted until the end of the month.

In the following month of April, the 1/6th Battalion moved to Wulverghem where they entered the trenches relieving the 1/5th Battalion of the North Staffordshire regiment, where they stayed until 26th April when the 1/5th Battalion returned and relieved them. After this spell in the trenches the 1/6th returned to the Aldershot Camp which was based at Neuve Eglise, 12 miles south of Ypres.

{There is an excellent article on the internet by Andrew Thornton about the Staffordshire Regiments in Wulverghem in April 1915 which is well worth a read (http://www.hellfirecorner.co.uk/wulver.htm)}

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During this time, the 1/6th and 1/5th North Staffordshire Regiment formed part of the 137th Infantry Brigade and 46th Division which was a Territorial Division based on the counties of Staffordshire, Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire, Lincolnshire and Leicestershire; it had been the first complete Territorial division to land in France. In the month of May the Battalion remained in Belgium alternating between the trenches east of Wulverghem and the Aldershot camp at Neuve Eglise, several men were killed and wounded in this month.

The beginning of June 1915 once again saw the battalion in the trenches where they stayed until the 6th June whence they returned to the Aldershot camp for the following two days. It was during this short spell that John Charles Joseph was promoted again this time to Lance Sergeant. The next two weeks were spent alternating between the trenches and the Aldershot Camp until the 24th June when the Battalion marched to Hutments at Ouderdom, here they remained until the last day of the month when they changed camps to Bivouacs west of Ouderdom. {Bivouac is a temporary encampment in an unsheltered area}

Killed in Action

The beginning of July saw the Battalion remain in the Bivouacs until 4th July, the weather was reported as being fine at this time. On the 5th July the men once again entered the trenches, relieving the 1/4th Lincolnshire Regiment and remained there until the 11th July. It was during this spell that John Charles Joseph was killed, his death occurred on the 8th July exactly one month after his recent promotion. He was 29 years old. On the same day five other men were wounded and, altogether during that spell in the trenches, 2 men were killed and 11 were wounded.

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The week after John Charles Joseph had died, three articles appeared in local newspapers reporting his death. On Friday 16th July a detailed report was published in the Lichfield Mercury and a more concise version was published in the Evening Standard. The following day another report appeared in the Birmingham Daily Mail. Another newspaper report was published one month later in “The Herald”.

The newspaper reports all spoke very highly of John Charles Joseph, in particular it was reported that his employers at Lichfield Council had deplored his death stating that he had been an honest, reliable and conscientious worker with a splendid physique and agreeable disposition. Sadly no photographs of John were published with any of the obituary reports. Strangely some of the newspaper reports indicated that John was Joseph and Cecilia’s youngest son, this was not right, but I suppose in the those testing times it was easy for reporters to get a few facts wrong.

On 29th October 1915, the personal effects of John Charles Joseph were returned to his father Joseph, they consisted of a broken watch, disc, testament, cigarette case, belt, lighter, knife, chain, some letters and photographs and also £6 2s in money.

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John Charles Joseph was buried at Sanctuary Wood Cemetery, Belgium. Sanctuary Wood is one of the larger woods in the commune of Zillebeke. There were three Commonwealth cemeteries at Sanctuary Wood before June 1916, all made in May-August 1915. The first two were on the western end of the wood, the third in a clearing further east. All were practically obliterated in the Battle of Mount Sorrel, but traces of the second were found and it became the nucleus of the present cemetery. Sanctuary Wood does not appear to have been John’s original resting place as Plot 2 wasn’t added until 13 years after his death. A burial return indicates that his grave plot was originally marked “Unknown British Sergeant”. According to the CWGC detail Plots II to V were added from 1927 to 1932 when graves were brought in from the surrounding battlefields.

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Medals and Memorials

After the war ended medals were duly awarded to both living and deceased soldiers. John Charles Joseph was awarded 3 medals, the 1914/15 Star, the British War Medal and the Victory Medal. These medals were sent to John’s father Joseph in September 1920 and November 1921; there are documents in John’s war record signed by Joseph in receipt of the medals. Also, there is a document which indicates that Joseph was in receipt of the plaque and scroll which the government of the day issued in commemoration to all deceased soldier’s relatives.

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Lichfield, as with all towns and cities across the United Kingdom, commissioned memorials to the soldiers who were killed in the First World War. Most of these memorials were erected in the early 1920’s and usually built in a place of prominence in the town centre as well as in churches and other public places. John Charles Joseph has his name engraved on three memorials in Lichfield; he is remembered on a plaque in Christ Church, which would have been his local family church where he was christened, the Guildhall which would have been due to him working for Lichfield Council and finally the Garden of Remembrance which is the main memorial in Lichfield.

There is a document on the CWGC site that lists John’s name as being engraved on the Menin Memorial, however, there is a red cross against the listing and so I do not think his name was ever engraved on there. It may be that someone proposed his name not knowing that he did have a proper grave, and when it was realised he was buried at Sanctuary Wood, it was cancelled. I can find no evidence that his name is on the Menin Memorial.

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After the War

Amongst the documents in John Charles Joseph’s war record there is a statement listing all of his relatives who were living at the end of the war. The paper lists parents Joseph and Cecilia as living at 36 Leomansley, Lichfield, and elder brother Richard Cecil as aged 43 and living in Shoeburyness. Younger brother Frederick, who got married to an Alice Windsor in June 1915 just one month before John died, was shown on the statement as aged 27 and living in Chelsea, London. Alice Bayliss, who was John’s older married sister, was listed as aged 39 and living at 84 Sandford Street, Lichfield; and finally, younger sister Cecilia Helen was aged 31, unmarried and living with her parents. This statement was made on the 23rd April 1919.

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Following through from the information on this document, it appears that John’s parents continued to live in Lichfield for the rest of their lives, Joseph died aged 82 in 1934 and Cecilia died in 1938 aged 83. John’s elder brother Richard Cecil remained living in Essex and in 1939 he was living in Benfleet, his occupation was listed as a retired GPO Wire Man; Richard appeared to be living with his 2nd wife and family; he died ten years later in Essex aged 73.

Younger brother Frederick James also appeared to live out his life in the South of England; although I cannot find Frederick specifically listed in the 1939 register, his family were living in the Merton and Morden area of Surrey. I have been unable to ascertain exactly when or where Frederick died.

John’s two sisters lived in Lichfield throughout their lives. In 1939 Alice was still living at 84 Sandford Street, she was widowed and living with her son George Bayliss. Alice died in Lichfield in 1950 aged 70. Cecilia Helen the youngest sister was living at 36 Church Lane, Lichfield in 1939, she was listed as unmarried and a night nurse; Cecilia died aged 70 in 1958.

Summary

John Charles Joseph Nicholls is buried in Plot 2 Row D grave no. 28 at Sanctuary Wood. The gravestone contains a cross in the centre and the inscription “Jesus lives! Henceforth is death but the gate of life immortal”. From cemetery documentation it appears that it was John’s mother who submitted the words for the stone. The words come from a German hymn that was written in 1751 and translated into English in 1841.

We will remember John along with all the men who gave their lives fighting for the freedom that we enjoy today.

Item, Source and Credit

1. Regimental cap badge of the North Staffordshire Regiment © Wikipedia
2. Extract from the Baptism Register for Christ Church, Lichfield showing the baptism of John Charles Joseph Nicholls © Find My Past
3. Engraving of Christ Church, Lichfield © Wikipedia
4. Extract from the Marriage Register for St. Peter’s Church, Walsall showing the wedding in 1875 of Joseph Nicholls and Cecilia Louisa Holloway © Find My Past
5. Marriage licence approval document from St. Peter’s Church for Joseph Nicholls to marry Cecilia Louisa Holloway © Find My Past
6. Extract from the Christ Church, Lichfield, baptism records showing the christening of Joseph Nicholls in 1852 © Find My Past
7. Extract from the St. Chad’s Church, Lichfield, marriage records showing the marriage of George Nicholls and Elizabeth Tomlinson in 1837 © Find My Past
8. Extract from the 1871 census showing George Nicholls living with his sons Edward and Joseph © Ancestry
9. Extract from the St.Michael’s Church, Lichfield, baptism records showing the christening of Cecilia Louisa Holloway in 1854 © Find My Past
10. Extract from the St. Mary’s Church, Lichfield, marriage records showing the marriage of Richard Holloway and Hannah Louisa Fowler in 1853 © Find My Past
11. Extract from the 1871 census showing the family of Richard Holloway © Ancestry
12. Extract from the 1881 census showing the family of Joseph and Cecilia Nicholls © Ancestry
13. Extract from the 1891 census showing the family of Joseph and Cecilia Nicholls © Ancestry
14. Extract from the 1901 census showing the family of Joseph and Cecilia Nicholls © Ancestry
15. Extract from the 1911 census showing the family of Joseph and Cecilia Nicholls © Ancestry
16A and 16B. Two extracts from the Attestation Papers of John Charles Joseph Nicholls © Ancestry
17. Trench 8, Wulverghem-Messines Road, April 1915 © Hellfire Corner website
18. Extract from the War Diary for July 1915 of the 1/6th Battalion North Staffordshire Regiment © Ancestry
19. Extract from Lichfield Mercury 16 July 1915 © Find My Past
20. Extract from Evening Despatch 16 July 1915 © Find My Past
21. Extract from Birmingham Daily Mail 17 July 1915 © Find My Past
22A. Extract from the Military Record of John Charles Joseph Nicholls, listing his effects © Ancestry
22B. UK, Army Registers of Soldiers' Effects, 1901-1929 for John Charles Joseph Nicholls © Ancestry
23. Sanctuary Wood Cemetery, Belgium © Wikimedia Commons website {https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Sanctuary_Wood_Cemetery_-9.JPG}
24. Plan of Sanctuary Wood Cemetery, John Charles Joseph Nicholls is buried in Plot II. D. 28 © Commonwealth War Graves Commission
25. Commemoration certificate for Lance Sergeant John Charles Joseph Nicholls © Commonwealth War Graves Commission
26. Medal card for John Charles Joseph Nicholls © Ancestry
27. Memorial plaque in Christ Church, Lichfield © Burntwood Family History Group (Alan Betts)
28. War memorial in the Guildhall, Lichfield © Burntwood Family History Group (Alan Betts)
29. Photograph of Lichfield War Memorial in the Garden of Remembrance © lichfieldlive.co.uk website
30. Statement of living relatives from the military record of John Charles Joseph Nicholls © Ancestry