Reginald Gordon Clement Nichols M.B.E. (1888 - 1960)

Born 11 Feb 1888 in Molong, New South Wales, Australia

Ancestors

Died Jul 1960 at age 72 in Castlemaine, Victoria, Australia

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Biography

Reginald Nichols M.B.E. is Notable.

Reginald Gordon Clement Nichols was born in February 1888.^[1] He is the son of Alfred Nichols and Maria Clements. His place of birth seems to have been Woodlands in the Colony of New South Wales, in what was later to become Australia.

In 1915 he gained the licentiate of theology of the Australian College of Theology with first-class honours and was ordained to the priesthood. He was awarded a diploma of education in 1916 and an M.A. in 1917. Before this as early as 1912 he was studying at Ridley College, Melbourne. There he trained for the ministry and studied for an arts degree at the University of Melbourne. In 1913 he was ordained as a deacon and was sent to Grenfell, New South Wales, as a curate. He combined his ministerial work with study, graduating the very next year from The University of Melbourne with first-class honours and the Laurie prize in logic and philosophy.

On the 12th of July 1916 at St Michael's Church of England in North Carlton, Melbourne, Reginald Nichols had married Alice Emily Wilson. They would go to have three children.

For the next three years Nichols was warden of Gippsland Diocesan Hostel at Sale and minister of Longford and Kilmany. And from 1918 he was also acting canon of St Paul's Cathedral, Sale. He was later appointed to St Mark's Parish in Fitzroy, then one of Melbourne's most difficult parishes. He attempted many things to attract larger numbers to this struggling congregation, including giving moving picture shows as part of his Christmas services. This was a practice he maintained for many years, using both the 'silent screen' and the 'talkie'. And by 1924 The Reverend Nichols had also established a working men's club at the church, and the next year opened one of the first cafeterias in Melbourne. And also his charitable work feeding his destitute parishioners during the Depression of the 1930s.

From 1933 he further broadened his pastoral work to include broadcasting on the radio, working as Brother Bill initially with the Australian Broadcasting Commission and later with with commercial stations notably 3AK in Melbourne. He published a magazine, Brother Bill's Monthly, but it was his oratorical skills which won him renown, while attracting hundreds of followers who supported his pastoral ventures. He was rewarded when appointed a Member of the Order of the British Empire (M.B.E). in 1941.

However in November 1942 the Reverend Nichols resigned his position at St Mark's quite suddenly and moved to Townsville in Queensland, to open a centre for soldiers. Two months later he was arrested for 'having sent obscene words by post' and he was subsequently convicted. This was all the result of nervous exhaustion after twenty years of untiring work in his beloved Fitzroy parish, but unfortunately this aberrant behaviour brought the Reverend Nichols' clerical career to an abrupt end.

The Reverend Reginald Gordon Clement Nichols M.B.E passed away on the 18th of July 1960 of Arteriosclerotic heart disease (ASHD) at Castlemaine in Victoria. He was cremated and survived by his wife a daughter and two sons.

Sources

1. ↑ NSW Birth Registration 27497/1888

• New South Wales Births, Deaths & Marriages. BIRTH: NICHOLS, REGINALD G. C. - registration no. 27497/1888 - father: ALFRED H. - mother: MARIA - district: MOLONG. from the NSW Family History Search first accessed online on the 25th of September, 2022 at: https://familyhistory.bdm.nsw.gov.au/lifelink/familyhistory/search/births?

• Victorian Births, Deaths & Marriages: MARRIAGE: NICHOLS, Reg Gordon - event: Marriage - bride: WILSON, Alice Emily - registration year: 1916 - registration no. 6414/1916. first accessed online on the 25th of September, 2022 from the Victorian Family History Search searchable database at: https://www.bdm.vic.gov.au/research-and-family-history/search-your-family-history

• Victorian Births, Deaths & Marriages: DEATH: NICHOLLS, Reginald Gordon - event: Death - mother: Maria CLEMENTS - father: NICHOLLS, Alfred Harvey - place of birth: TOOGONG NEW SOUTH WALES - place of death: CASTLEMAINE - spouse at death: <Unknown Family Name> - age at death: 72 - registration year: 1960 - registration no. 24626/1960. first accessed online on the 25th of September, 2022 from the Victorian Family History Search searchable database at: https://www.bdm.vic.gov.au/research-and-family-history/search-your-family-history

• David Pear, Nichols, Reginald Gordon Clement (1888–1960), Australian Dictionary of Biography, National Centre of Biography, Australian National University, https://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/nichols-reginald-gordon-clement-7843/text13621, published first in hardcopy 1988, accessed online 25 September 2022.

• Prominent Personalities THE REV. R. G. NICHOLS AN UNORTHODOX CLERIC as published in the Table Talk (Melbourne, Vic. : 1885 - 1939) of Thursday 27 June 1929, Page 13. first accessed on TROVE on the 25th of September, 2022 at: https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/146452450?

• LONG HONOURS LIST from The Argus (Melbourne, Vic. : 1848 - 1957) of Wednesday 1 January 1941, Page 2. first accessed on TROVE on the 25th of September, 2022 at: https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/8185857?searchTerm=%22Reginald%20Nichols%22%20Reg%20Reverend%20Gordon%20Clement%20Nichols%20M.B.E.

• NEW YEAR HONORS FOR AUSTRALIANS from The Herald (Melbourne, Vic. : 1861 - 1954) of Wednesday 1 January 1941, Page 8. first accessed on TROVE on the 25th of September, 2022 at: https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/244514433?searchTerm=%22Reginald%20Nichols%22%20Reg%20Reverend%20Gordon%20Clement%20Nichols%20M.B.E.

• GOVERNMENT HOUSE INVESTITURE from The Argus (Melbourne, Vic. : 1848 - 1957) of Saturday 13 December 1941, Page 4. first accessed on TROVE on the 25th of September, 2022 at: https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/8222164?searchTerm=%22Reginald%20Nichols%22%20Reg%20Reverend%20Gordon%20Clement%20Nichols%20M.B.E.

• BREACHES OF POST AND TELEGRAPH ACT from the Townsville Daily Bulletin (Qld. : 1907 - 1954) of Saturday 20 March 1943, Page 3. first accessed on TROVE on the 25th of September, 2022 at: https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/61839064/5533847

• Religious Broadcasting Authors: Bridget Griffen-Foley, Alison M. Healey & Peter Horsfield. first known date: 2014. Appears in: A Companion to the Australian Media : R 2014 reference companion section pg. 411-413. as hosted on the UNIVERSITY OF QUEENSLAND'S AUSLIT website first accessed online on the 25th of September, 2002.

• Long, Ash, 2002, Good Guys and Godbotherers: The 3AK Story as reproduced on Ash Long's Ash Long.com.au | Giornalismo | Copyright ©2022. first accessed online on the 25th of September, 2022 at: https://ashlong.com.au/wp/1931/11/29/good-guys-and-godbotherers-the-3ak-story/