Period:

Second World War (1939-1945)

Rank:

Pilot Officer

Awarded on:

October 31st, 1941

"In August, 1941, this officer was a passenger in an aircraft which was involved in a collision when taking off and crashed. The aircraft immediately caught fire but Pilot Officer Nicholson managed to get clear. He remembered that when the plane crashed someone in the wireless compartment had been thrown across him. Ammunition and pyrotechnics were exploding and the whole front of the aircraft was in flames but Pilot Officer Nicholson, with complete disregard for his own safety, re-entered and, making his way forward, found the wireless operator, whom he managed to drag to the door, when an explosion occurred which blew Pilot Officer Nicholson a distance of 20 yards. The wireless operator was finally extricated by others but without doubt, his life was saved by Pilot Officer Nicholson's gallantry in the first instance."