Alan William Delforce NICHOLLS  O.B.E., M.C.

25 Aug 1913 - 15 Dec 1996

Photos taken ~1934 and ~1982

Captain A.W.D. NICHOLLS leads soldiers of the 2^nd Battalion, Leicestershire Regiment into action on Crete, May 1941.  A painting by Terence Cuneo.

Lt. Col. A.W.D. NICHOLLS, shown with his wife Mary and daughter Janet, receiving the decoration of Officer of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (OBE) at Buckingham Palace – announced 30 Sep 1958

Alan William Delforce NICHOLLS (1913-1996), husband of Mary Janet BISHOP, had a distinguished military career, notably at the Battle of Heraklion in Crete in May 1941, where he was wounded, losing two fingers on his left hand.  He was subsequently awarded the Order of the British Empire (O.B.E.) and the Military Cross (M.C.).  

After graduating from Cambridge he was commissioned as a 2^nd. Lt. in 1934 and joined the Leicestershire Regt. in 1935.  He served in Palestine beginning in 1939, became Capt. in 1942 and Maj. in 1944.  In 1948 he served in Germany with the British Army of the Rhine.  Then in 1953 he served in Jordan with the 2nd. Brigade Arab Legion, and in 1958 in Cyprus with the Royal Leicestershire Regt.