Patteson Womersley Nickalls (23 January 1877 – 10 September 1946), was an

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

polo player Polo is a ball game played on horseback, a traditional field sport and one of the world's oldest known team sports. The game is played by two opposing teams with the objective of scoring using a long-handled wooden mallet to hit a small hard ...

who competed in the

1908 Summer Olympics The 1908 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the IV Olympiad and also known as London 1908) were an international multi-sport event held in London, England, United Kingdom, from 27 April to 31 October 1908. The 1908 Games were ori ...

for Great Britain.

Biography

Nickalls was born on 23 January 1877 at

North Weald North Weald Bassett or simply North Weald is a village and civil parish in the Epping Forest district of Essex, England. The village is within the North Weald Ridges and Valleys landscape area. A market is held every Saturday and Bank Holiday Mo ...

, Essex, the son of Sir Patteson Nickalls, a stockbroker, and his wife Florence. He was educated at

Rugby School Rugby School is a public school (English independent boarding school for pupils aged 13–18) in Rugby, Warwickshire, England. Founded in 1567 as a free grammar school for local boys, it is one of the oldest independent schools in Britain. Up ...

.Rugby School Register
/ref> There he was in the cricket XI from 1892 to 1894 and in the rugby XV in 1893. He went to

New College, Oxford New College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1379 by William of Wykeham in conjunction with Winchester College as its feeder school, New College is one of the oldest colleges at th ...

, played in the Varsity Match for the

Oxford University Polo Club The Oxford University Polo Club (often referred to as OUPC) is the Discretionary Full Blue sports club for competitive polo at Oxford University. Founded in 1874, it is one of the four oldest continuing polo clubs worldwide. Its annual Varsity ...

in 1895-6-7 and graduated with a BA in 1897. In 1900, he was gazetted to the

Durham Light Infantry The Durham Light Infantry (DLI) was a light infantry regiment of the British Army in existence from 1881 to 1968. It was formed in 1881 under the Childers Reforms by the amalgamation of the 68th (Durham) Regiment of Foot (Light Infantry) and t ...

and served in the

Second Anglo-Boer War The Second Boer War ( af, Tweede Vryheidsoorlog, , 11 October 189931 May 1902), also known as the Boer War, the Anglo–Boer War, or the South African War, was a conflict fought between the British Empire and the two Boer Republics (the South ...

. He took part in the

Relief of Ladysmith When the Second Boer War broke out on 11 October 1899, the Boers had a numeric superiority within Southern Africa. They quickly invaded the British territory and laid siege to Ladysmith, Kimberley and Mafeking. Britain meanwhile transported th ...

and the

Battle of Colenso The Battle of Colenso was the third and final battle fought during the Black Week of the Second Boer War. It was fought between British and Boer forces from the independent South African Republic and Orange Free State in and around Colenso, Na ...

. He retired from the army in 1901 and became a member of the London Stock Exchange. Nickalls played polo for England in the 1902

International Polo Cup The International Polo Cup, also called the Newport Cup and the Westchester Cup, is a trophy in polo that was created in 1876 and was played for by teams from the United States and United Kingdom. The match has varied in length over the years ...

matches. He was a member of the winning teams in the

Roehampton Trophy The Roehampton trophy is the oldest polo trophy in the United Kingdom. The trophy was first played for at the Roehampton Club in 1902 and was won by Buccaneers. Today it is played for at the Ham Polo Club, the tournament is played for at an 6-goal ...

in 1904 and 1905. In 1905 he played for the

Roehampton Club The Roehampton Club is a private members’ sports club in Roehampton in southwest London, England. It is set in of parkland, close to Richmond Park. Originally established in 1901 as an officers’ polo club, the Roehampton Club has sporting and ...

and in 1908 the Roehampton team represented

Great Britain at the 1908 Summer Olympics Great Britain, represented by the British Olympic Association (BOA), competed as the host nation of the 1908 Summer Olympics in London. The British Olympic Association was the National Olympic Committee responsible for organising the United Kingd ...

in London and won the gold medal. He captained the Enghsh team against America in 1909 in the Westchester Cup with a handicap of +8 Nickalls served on the Western Front in

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

in the

Northamptonshire Yeomanry The Northamptonshire Yeomanry was a Yeomanry regiment of the British Army, formed in 1794 as Volunteer Force (Great Britain), volunteer cavalry. It served in the Second Boer War, the World War I, First World War and the World War II, Second World ...

. He wrote an account of fox hunting behind the lines in 1916. He remained a major in the Territorial Reserve, having been awarded the

Distinguished Service Order The Distinguished Service Order (DSO) is a military decoration of the United Kingdom, as well as formerly of other parts of the Commonwealth, awarded for meritorious or distinguished service by officers of the armed forces during wartime, typ ...

in 1918, until 1926. Nickalls died on 10 September 1946 at the age of 69.

External links

Olympic Players profile

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nickalls, Patteson 1877 births 1946 deaths People educated at Rugby School Durham Light Infantry officers English polo players English Olympic medallists Polo players at the 1908 Summer Olympics Olympic polo players of Great Britain Olympic gold medallists for Great Britain Patteson Womersley International Polo Cup Roehampton Trophy British Army personnel of the Second Boer War Northamptonshire Yeomanry officers Companions of the Distinguished Service Order Medalists at the 1908 Summer Olympics Olympic medalists in polo