General A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of highest military ranks, high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry. In some usages the term "general officer" refers t ...

Sir William Charles Nicholls, (25 February 1854 – 1 December 1935) was a

Royal Marines The Corps of Royal Marines (RM), also known as the Royal Marines Commandos, are the UK's special operations capable commando force, amphibious light infantry and also one of the five fighting arms of the Royal Navy. The Corps of Royal Marine ...

officer who served as Adjutant-General Royal Marines.

Military career

Educated at

Cheltenham College ("Work Conquers All") , established = , closed = , type = Public schoolIndependent School Day and Boarding School , religion = Church of England , president = , head_label = Head , head = Nicola Huggett ...

, Nicholls was commissioned into the

Royal Marine Artillery The history of the Royal Marines began on 28 October 1664 with the formation of the Duke of York and Albany's Maritime Regiment of Foot soon becoming known as the Admiral's Regiment. During the War of the Spanish Succession the most historic achi ...

on 15 July 1872. He saw action in South Africa in 1879 during the

Anglo-Zulu War The Anglo-Zulu War was fought in 1879 between the British Empire and the Zulu Kingdom. Following the passing of the British North America Act of 1867 forming a federation in Canada, Lord Carnarvon thought that a similar political effort, coupl ...

. He became Deputy Adjutant-General at Headquarters, Royal Marine Forces in June 1911. At that time the Deputy Adjutant-General was the professional head of the

. His post was redesignated Adjutant-General Royal Marines in early 1914 shortly before the Gallipoli landings, in which the Royal Marine Forces took a prominent role, in June 1915 during the

First World War 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 ...

. He retired in June 1916.

References

, - {{DEFAULTSORT:Nicholls, William 1854 births 1935 deaths People educated at Cheltenham College Royal Marines generals Knights Commander of the Order of the Bath Royal Navy personnel of the Anglo-Zulu War Royal Marines generals of World War I People from Greenwich Military personnel from London