James Joachim Nicholas (17 November 1890 – 20 September 1917) was an Australian rules footballer who played with University in the Victorian Football League. He was killed in action, in Belgium, during World War I.
Family The son of William John Nicholas, and Sarah Nicholas, née Joachim,Marriages, The Age, (Saturday 8 February 1890), p.5. James Joachim Nicholas was born at Picola, Victoria on 17 November 1890.
Education He was educated at Brighton Grammar School.Our Schools, Brighton Southern Cross, (Saturday, 17 December 1904) p.2. In 1906, aged 15, he passed the matriculation examination.Matriculation: May Results: Melbourne Candidates, The Australasian, (Saturday, 23 July 1906), p.38; Our Schools: Brighton Grammar School: Form VI, The Brighton Southern Cross, (Saturday, 22 December 1906), p3.
He studied medicine at the University of Melbourne,Medical Student's Work, The Argus, (Saturday, 13 August 1910), p.19.Roll of War Service, The Melbourne University Magazine: War Memorial Number, (July 1920), pp.32–33. graduating as Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery (M.B.B.S.) in 1911,Conferring of Degrees: Bachelor of Medicine: James Joachim Nicholas, The Australasian, (Saturday, 30 December 1911) p.31; Conferring of Degrees: Bachelor of Surgery: James Joachim Nicholas, The Australasian, (Saturday, 30 December 1911) p.31. and as Doctor of Medicine (M.D.) in 1913.Melbourne University: Degrees Conferred: Doctor of Medicine: James Joachim Nicholas, The Argus, (Wednesday, 24 December 1913), p.6.
Medicine Following his graduation, and before his military service, he practised medicine jointly with Dr. Richard Horace Gibbs in Colac, Victoria.Colac Contingent: For Expeditionary Force: Army Medical Corps, The Colac Herald, (Friday, 28 August 1914), p.5; (News Item), The Colac Herald, (Monday, 24 August 1914), p.5.
Football A regular player for the university's Metropolitan Amateur Football Association (MAFA) team, he played one VFL match for the university team, as a last minute inclusion in a team badly depleted in numbers, in the round 12 match, against Richmond Football Club, at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, on 8 July 1911.
Military service He served in the Australian Medical Corps during the First World War but was killed in action at the Menin Road Ridge, aged 26, on 20 September 1917,For Freedom's Cause: Killed in Action: Lieut.-Colonel J.J. Nicholas, The Bendigonian, (Thursday, 4 October 1917), p.22; Roll of Honor: Victorian List: Killed in Action: "Lieut.-Col. J.J. Nicholas, Echuca East, 20/9/17", The Weekly Times, (Saturday, 27 October 1917), p.31. while serving at the Passchendaele front.
See also List of Victorian Football League players who died on active service
Footnotes
Sources Holmesby, Russell & Main, Jim (2007). The Encyclopedia of AFL Footballers. 7th ed. Melbourne: Bas Publishing. Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour: James Joachim Nicholas. World War One Service Record: Lieutenant Colonel James Joachim Nicholas, National Archives of Australia. World War One Nominal Roll: Lieutenant Colonel James Joachim Nicholas, Australian War Memorial. World War One Embarkation Roll: Captain James Joachim Nicholas, Australian War Memorial.
External links
Lieutenant Colonel James Joachim Nicholas (photograph): Australian War Memorial. Captain James Joachim Nicholas (photograph): Australian War Memorial. The AIF Project: James Joachim Nicholas, UNSW Canberra.