Gordon ‘Nick’ Nicol was born on October 17, 1922, in Vancouver, British Columbia and his RCAF training included schools in Dafoe, Winnipeg and Saskatoon, where he was an active member of the volleyball team. Nicol, at just 22 years of age, was assigned to 550 Squadron on January 8, 1945 and flew all seven missions with the Harris crew as the crew’s bomb aimer.
Nicol parachuted to safety when the crew was shot down during a raid on Dessau and was quickly taken into custody as a POW. He would spend three weeks at the Dulag Luft transit camp with fellow crewmates Hicks, Kelleher and Yemen.
Following his liberation from Dulag Luft, Nicol returned to Canada in early May 1945 via the S. S. Ranchi, a British passenger steam ship. The passengers would celebrate Victory in Europe Day during the voyage.
On returning to Vancouver, Nicol studied law at the University of British Columbia while dating his future wife, Hazel Bridget Casey. The two stayed in touch even when he articled for a year in Salmon Arm, BC. In 1951, Nicol opened a family law practice in Vancouver in partnership with a fellow RCAF veteran. The following year, Nicol and Hazel were married and they would have two children, David and Linda.
Nicol passed away in Vancouver on June 6, 1986 at the age of 63.
The Harris Crew 