NICOL, William Logie
NAME NICOL William Logie RANK Private 50210 1st Canadian Army - II Canadian Corps - 3rd Canadian Infantry Division - 9th Infantry Brigade
UNIT Highland Light Infantry of Canada
“defence not defiance”
Royal Canadian Infantry Corps Born August 1, 1913 - Hensall - Township of Hay - County of Huron - Ontario Residence Exeter - Ontario Died July 25, 1944 31 years Cemetery Bretteville-Sur-Laize Canadian War Cemetery - Cintheaux - Calvados - France
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Friend Mrs.Helen Wells - Exeter - Ontario Brother James Nicol -serving with the RCAF - Exhibition Grounds - Toronto - Ontario
William was born in Hensall on August 1, 1913 and that was where he obtained his education. He would have attended Henall Presbyterian Church. After his schooling his employment was that of a baker for G. M Grace of Hensall. He enjoyed swimming and baseball.
Canada
He then traveled to Chatham to enlist into the Canadian Army on August 14, 1940. At enlistment he stood 5' 11" and weighed 140 pounds. He had a dark complexion with hazel eyes and fair hair. He was Taken on Strength by the Kent Machine Gun Regiment with the rank of Private. While he trained in Ontario the Kent Regiment was tasked with guarding the power stations in the Niagara Falls area. He was then posted with the Unit to New Westminster - British Columbia on May 4, 1942. They were part of Pacific Command and were part of the 8th Canadian Infantry Division and attached to the 14th Infantry Brigade. The Regiment was formed to strengthen and administer the home defence facilities on the Canadian west coast. They trained reinforcements that would be posted to Canadian Divisions in Europe. At the end of the year he was in Terrace - British Columbia. On January 1, 1943 he was Taken on Strength with No. 1 District Depot in London. A week later he was Taken on Strength at the Transit Camp in Debert - Nova Scotia.
Overseas
February 1, 1943 Private Nicol was Struck off Service of the Canadian Army in Canada and the same day he sailed out of Halifax harbour bound for overseas. The next day at sea he was Taken on Strength with the Canadian Army overseas. He disembarked in the United Kingdom on February 13 and then posted to No. 3 Canadian Infantry Reinforcement Unit. He was here on May 27 when he was Taken on Strength with the Highland Light Infantry of Canada. From the end of May 1943 until May of 1944 he trained on the Rifle - Class 1, on the Bren gun - Class 2 and took a range a took a range course Private Nicol then was involved in the Normandy Landings, in the fight for Caen, in the fight for Buron and in the fight for Bourgeubus Ridge. Operation "Spring" was taking place and the 3rd Division had been tasked with capturing Tilley-la-Campagne during the first phase and then in the second phase with supporting armour capture Garcelles-Secqueville. The other objective was to push the Germans off the high ground north of Falaise.
Initially, the HLI objective was to take out Garcelles-Secqueville and then move into a position at Bras and
at Hubert Folie which had become a hotspot, and from their movements the Germans brought down heavy
shell and mortar fire resulting in HLI casualties. “C” Company alone suffered 12 casualties.The North Novas found Tilly-la-Campagne too heavily fortified for the infantry to capture. The result was they were up against a heavily and well - defended enemy line and after this action the HLI was withdrawn from the line.
The events around Tilly showed the area was too well defended to be taken by battalion attack. Communications then broke down but it appears the Germans allowed the Canadians to pass through their positions into Tilly and held off their supporting weapons and when the HLI did make their way into Tilly they were faced with a strong counter-attack of German armour and without the proper weapons to face the Germans they were badly mauled before they achieved a withdrawal by small groups in the following days.
Private Nicol was a rifleman with "B" Company and on July 25th as his company was on their way to their
objective they came under heavy and murderous enemy mortar fire and machine gun fire. The enemy fire was coming from the vicinity of an anti-tank ditch and also from the west side of the village of Les Buisson. His platoon was badly shot up and they had to go to ground while awaiting supporting fire from tanks that had been ordered up to assist.
All the company stretcher bearers had been killed and Private Nicol then left his position and began to carry out their duties. Enemy fire was covering the whole area and he dragged his wounded comrades into a small ditch behind a hedgerow. He then took the field dressings from his dead comrades and then began to tend to those who were wounded. He had begun this task at 08:30 hours and he acted as a stretcher bearer the rest of the day. During the course of the day he made his way numerous times out into the open and fire swept fields to aid his buddies. With his courage and his tending to the wounded on this day, he personally saved eight of his comrades. It was while he performed these duties to save his comrades when he lost his life. Private Nicol had been mentioned in dispatches. Private Nicol was originally buried in an orchard located in the extreme north-west of Hubert Filio which was 3 1/2 miles south-east of Caen.
In July 1946 his friend Mrs. Helen Wells received the medals awarded to Private Nicol and were the 1939-45 Star, the France & Germany Star, the Defence Medal, the War Medal and the Canadian Volunteer Service Medal. She received the Memorial Cross in April 1950.
Private Nicol is honoured and remembered on the Hensall Cenotaph and on the Memorial Plaque of Hensall Presbyterian Church. He is honoured and remembered in the Books of Remembrance located in the Centre Block on Parliament hill and on the Canadian Virtual War Memorial. He is also honoured on the Kent Regiment Memorial in Chatham - Ontario.
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