Remembering Robert William Nickolls

St. Teilo Church, Bishopston

In the peaceful churchyard of St. Teilo’s, Bishopston, lies Robert William Nickolls, who died in April 1933, aged just forty-four. His gravestone bears the simple but striking inscription:
“Late of the 43rd Battn. A.I.F.”

These few words tell a story that stretches from the Gower Peninsula to Australia, and across the battlefields of Europe.

Early Life and Family

Robert was born in 1885 at Oystermouth, Swansea, the son of John Nickolls and Margaret (née Hancome).

His mother came from a distinguished local family. Her father, Robert Hancome, was a surgeon, listed in the 1845 Post Office Directory of London and Birmingham at 4 Euston Square, New Road, London. By 1856, he had moved to Blackpill, near Swansea, where he later died in 1874. His widow, Margaret Hancome, died a year before her grandson Robert was born, at St. Mary, Ealing, London.

Life in Oystermouth

1881 Census

The 1881 Census shows John and Margaret Nickolls living at Cwmbach, Oystermouth, with Margaret’s widowed mother. John, a Devon man, farmed 68 acres, employing one labourer.

1891 Census

By 1891, John had passed away and Margaret was described as “living on own means.” This is the first census in which young Robert William is recorded.

I

1901 Census

n 1901, the family had moved to Coedffranc, Neath, where sixteen-year-old Robert worked in the local mines — a common occupation for young men in the industrial valleys of South Wales.

Service with the Australian Imperial Force

Robert William Nickolls 
Service Papers

43rd Battalion,
Australian Imperial Force (A.I.F.)

Robert’s life took an unexpected turn when, in March 1916, he enlisted in Western Australia. He joined the 43rd Battalion, Australian Imperial Force (A.I.F.), at Blackboy Hill, giving his occupation as Civil Servant.

The 43rd Battalion was raised in South and Western Australia as part of the 11th Brigade, 3rd Division. Later that year, Robert and his comrades embarked from Fremantle aboard the troopship SS Argyllshire.

SS Argyllshire

After a long sea voyage via the Cape of Good Hope, they arrived at Devonport, Plymouth, in January 1917. Devonport served as one of Britain’s major military ports, where Australian troops disembarked before continuing to training camps on Salisbury Plain, preparing for the Western Front in France and Belgium.

left to right
1914/15 Star; British War and Victory Medals

By the end of the war, Robert had been awarded the 1914/15 Star, the British War Medal, and the Victory Medal, recognising his service and dedication.

Return to Britain aboard SS Benalla

After the war, Robert remained overseas for several years. In 1929, he returned to the United Kingdom aboard the SS Benalla, a passenger liner of the Peninsula and Orient Steam Navigation Company Ltd (P&O).

SS Benalla

Built in 1912 by Caird & Co. of Greenock, the Benalla was an 11,118-ton twin-screw liner, originally part of P&O’s Australia “Branch Service.” She had served as a troopship during the First World War before resuming commercial voyages on the Australia–UK route.

In April 1929, the Benalla left Adelaide, calling at Fremantle to embark passengers and load general cargo bound for Hull and London. The ship travelled by way of the Suez Canal, calling at ports including Colombo, Port Said, Malta, and Plymouth before arriving at London on 28 May 1929.

The voyage was typical of the great migration and return traffic between Britain and Australia in the early twentieth century — a journey of more than 12,000 miles, taking six weeks to complete. Robert was among those homeward-bound passengers recorded in the Board of Trade Inward Passenger Lists (BT 26) for that voyage.

By 1930, Robert had settled at 2 York Terrace, Clapham, South London.

Final Years and Resting Place

Robert William Nickolls
St. Teilo

Robert William Nickolls
St. Teilo

In 1933, Robert William Nickolls, then residing at Coombe Cottage, Overton, Port Eynon, passed away aged 44. He was buried at St. Teilo Churchyard, Bishopston, returning at last to the landscape of his birth.

His grave, marked with the proud reminder of his service — “Late of the 43rd Battn. A.I.F.” — stands as a quiet tribute to a man whose life connected Gower, London, and Australia, and whose story remains part of the shared history of this parish.