Lives of the First World War

Claude Nicholson CB (July 2, 1898– June 26, 1943) was a British Army officer who fought in World War I and commanded the defense at the Siege of Calais in World War II. The older son of Richard Francis Nicholson, a distiller from Hampshire. He served with the 16th Lancers in France and Belgium until 1918. When World War II started, Nicholson was given command of 30th Infantry Brigade, Nicholson's brigade left Dover and reached Calais on 23 May 1940 to keep the Calais port open. On May 26, the German barrage continued and in the afternoon, the Germans broke through, taking Nicholson and many soldiers prisoner. Nicholson died in captivity at Oflag IX A/Z, Germany in 1943, and was in the German town of Rotenburg an der Fulda. He was awarded Companion of the Bath for his services at Calais in 1945.