Archie was born on 31st March 1888 to parents William John Edward, and Emma Nichols, of New St., Shipston-on-Stour. The family was made up of older brothers Edward and Bernard, younger sister Eva and brother Herbert. On the 13th April 1891 young Archie was enrolled in the Shipston Infants School and the family’s address is noted as High Street, Shipston-on-Stour, where Archie’s family ran the Black Bear, opposite the White Bear. Archie moved up from the Infants School on 2nd July 1894 and was at the Boys School until the 30th March 1901, just two days after his thirteenth birthday. The census taken the following day shows the family living in Telegraph Street, and his father William working as a Pork Butcher.

Soon after leaving school Archie joined the Gloucestershire Regiment and served for nine years before transferring to the Reserves in January 1914. Reports from local papers indicate that Archie’s nickname was ‘Hard Un’, but the origin of this is not known. On leaving the Army Archie joined the Warwickshire Constabulary in February 1914 before being called back to the colours when the 1st Battalion mobilised on the 4th August. The returning reservists started arriving almost immediately and mobilisation was complete on the 7th August. The Gloucesters sailed for France on the SS Gloucester Castle, which left Southampton at 12:10pm on the 12th August and landed in Le Harve the following day.  They first went into the front line on the 23rd August at Mons but didn’t come into contact with the enemy until the following day, after the order to retire had been received.  

At this time they formed the rear-guard of the 3rd Brigade and were beginning the “Retreat from Mons”, which was really a fighting withdrawal that ended on the 5th September on the Marne. On the 6th they turned to face the enemy and on the 7th marched over 13 miles. The Gloucesters didn’t encounter the enemy and for them the Battle of the Marne ended without firing a single shot. From the Marne the British pushed the Germans back to the Aisne. Through the Autumn the Battalion fought at Langemarck, Gheluvelt and Nonne Boschen and suffered heavily, losing the vast majority of its original soldiers. The war diary for this period includes several messages from Sir Douglas Haig and Lord Kitchener congratulating the Battalion on its courage.  In December 1914 Archie was wounded at Givenchy and on 22nd January 1915 the Stratford Herald reported:

Mr & Mrs Nichols of New-street Shipston-on-Stour have received a letter from their son Pte AH Nichols of 1st Gloucester Regiment who is lying wounded in No3 Northern Hospital, Sheffield stating that his horse was shot under him and fell on him crushing his body. While he was being carried off on the stretcher a bullet hit him on the instep and another struck him at the bottom of his back. Pte Nichols went through the severe fighting from Mons and this was the first time he had been wounded.  He says he thinks he has done his bit as only 26 remain out of the lot that started with them.

On returning to France in March 1915 Archie joined the 2nd Btn Gloucestershire Regiment. On the 8th May the Germans attacked at Frezenberg Ridge and the 2nd Gloucesters came under a furious barrage with shells directly hitting their front line trenches.

This caused very heavy casualties, some platoons being reduced to a mere handful of men.

At 6.30am the following day the Germans restarted the bombardment for 10 minutes, followed with 10 minutes of rifle fire and then the bombardment was repeated, before returning to another 10 minutes of rifle and machine-gun fire. The Gloucesters knew that an attack was coming and so retired the majority of the men, leaving a force of 10 men from each company to hold the line. At 7:15am the Germans attacked and after desperate fighting managed to break into the Gloucesters trenches, but were eventually driven off. On the 10th May the Gloucesters were relieved and marched back to reserve trenches a mile east of Ypres. The Battalion had lost 5 officers and 140 men. It is not unusual for the date of death to be the day after heavy fighting, so although the official date of Archie’s death is 10th May, it is presumed that he was actually killed on the 9th May.  The Stratford Herald of the 11th June reported:

Last week Mr & Mrs W. Nichols received official notification of the death of their youngest son Pte Archibald Harry Nichols of the 2nd Gloucesters who was killed in action on May 10th. Pte Nichols who was in his 29th year served 9 years with the 1st Gloucesters and went into reserves in January 1914. He joined the Warwickshire Constabulary in February of that year and was stationed in Rugby at the outbreak of war. He rejoined his old regiment on mobilisation. He fought through the retreat from Mons and was present in all the heavy fighting on the Marne and Iser and on December 4th he was seriously wounded and invalided home. On rejoining at the end February he was drafted into the 2nd Battalion. “Hard Un” as he was called was a fine built strapping soldier of a most genial disposition and he was deservedly popular with all who knew him and the deepest sympathy is felt for his parents. He had a premonition that he would not return home again for he told the writer when he started to rejoin that he should never see him again, but still he went to do his duty in his usual cheerful spirits and the Sergeant of his Company in a letter to the deceased’s parents says “He was killed in the fighting to regain a trench. He lived a brave man, and died a brave man.”

The Evesham Journal also reported on Archie’s death:

It is with regret that we have to report the death of another Shipstonian while fighting in France. Pte AH Nichols, son of Mr W Nichols, New-street. He had served nine years in the Gloucestershire Regiment, being transferred to the Reserve in January 1914, and joined the Warwickshire Constabulary the following February. He was called up on the declaration of war and went to France where he was badly wounded in December. He returned to France early in March and was killed in action on May 10 while storming a trench. The official notification was received on May 26. Pte Nichols came from an old fighting family. His father served in the Crimea, and four of his uncles have served with the colours, one in Lord Kitchener’s Army, one with the Canadians, and one discharge medically unfit, and one dead. He was 27 years of age.

Archie’s body wasn’t found and he is listed on the Menin Gate Memorial, Ypres, Belgium and is remembered on the Town and County School Memorials.

 and County School Memorials. Memorial, Ypres, Belgium and is remembered on the Town and County School Memorials.

Mike Wells