Sir John Fearns Nicoll (26 April 1899 – 12 January 1981) was a British colonial administrator who served as Governor of Singapore from 1952 to 1955.

Early years and colonial service

Nicoll was born in 1899 and attended

Carlisle Grammar School Carlisle ( , ; from xcb, Caer Luel) is a city that lies within the Northern England, Northern English county of Cumbria, south of the Anglo-Scottish border, Scottish border at the confluence of the rivers River Eden, Cumbria, Eden, River C ...

Pembroke College, Oxford Pembroke College, a constituent college of the University of Oxford, is located at Pembroke Square, Oxford. The college was founded in 1624 by King James I of England, using in part the endowment of merchant Thomas Tesdale, and was named after ...

and

University of Oxford , mottoeng = The Lord is my light , established = , endowment = £6.1 billion (including colleges) (2019) , budget = £2.145 billion (2019–20) , chancellor ...

and embarked on a colonial career in British Protectorate of North Borneo in 1921. Nicoll became Deputy Colonial Secretary of the British Crown Colony

Trinidad and Tobago Trinidad and Tobago (, ), officially the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, is the southernmost island country in the Caribbean. Consisting of the main islands Trinidad and Tobago, and numerous much smaller islands, it is situated south of ...

in 1937, the Colonial Secretary of the British Colony of

Fiji Fiji ( , ,; fj, Viti, ; Fiji Hindi: फ़िजी, ''Fijī''), officially the Republic of Fiji, is an island country in Melanesia, part of Oceania in the South Pacific Ocean. It lies about north-northeast of New Zealand. Fiji consists ...

from 1944 to 1949. During this time, he served as

Acting Governor An acting governor is a person who acts in the role of governor. In Commonwealth jurisdictions where the governor is a vice-regal position, the role of "acting governor" may be filled by a lieutenant governor (as in most Australian states) or an ...

twice, in 1944 and 1947. This was followed by his appointment as administrator and Colonial Secretary of Hong Kong in 1949. Nicoll became Governor of Singapore in 1952 and was present during the 1954 National Service riots and left the Governorship the following year. Nicoll retired from the Colonial Service and returned to

Britain Britain most often refers to: * The United Kingdom, a sovereign state in Europe comprising the island of Great Britain, the north-eastern part of the island of Ireland and many smaller islands * Great Britain, the largest island in the United King ...

Awards and honours

Nicoll was invested as Companion of the

Order of St Michael and St George The Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George is a British order of chivalry founded on 28 April 1818 by George IV, George IV, Prince of Wales, while he was acting as prince regent for his father, George III, King George III. ...

(CMG) in the 1946 New Year Honours and was promoted to Knight Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George (KCMG) in

1953 New Year Honours The New Year Honours 1953 for the United Kingdom were announced on 30 December 1952, to celebrate the year passed and mark the beginning of 1953. This was the first New Year Honours since the accession of Queen Elizabeth II. The ''Honours list'' ...

. He was knighted with Order of the Hospital of Saint John of Jerusalem (KStJ) in 1952.

Personal

Nicoll was married to Irene and had one son, Anthony Nicoll. Nicoll died on 12 January 1981 at Scio House Hospital,

Putney Heath Wimbledon Common is a large open space in Wimbledon, southwest London. There are three named areas: Wimbledon Common, Putney Heath, and Putney Lower Common, which together are managed under the name Wimbledon and Putney Commons totalling 46 ...

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

Legacy

Nicoll Highway Nicoll Highway (; ms, Lebuhraya Nicoll; ta, நிகோல் நெடுஞ்சாலை) is a major arterial road in Singapore which links the junctions of Guillemard Road, Sims Way and Mountbatten Road in Kallang to the junctions of Espl ...

was named in his honour and a portrait of Nicoll by

Elliott & Fry Elliott & Fry was a Victorian era, Victorian photography studio founded in 1863 by Joseph John Elliott (14 October 1835 – 30 March 1903) and Clarence Edmund Fry (1840 – 12 April 1897). For a century, the firm's core business was taking and pu ...

hangs in the National Portrait Gallery.

References

External links

* 1899 births 1981 deaths People educated at Carlisle Grammar School British Hong Kong Administrators in British Singapore British North Borneo Political office-holders in Trinidad and Tobago British expatriates in Fiji British expatriates in Trinidad and Tobago Governors of the Straits Settlements {{Singapore-politician-stub