polderhoek

On 7 March 2007 Henry Nicholas was publically acknowledged in New Zealand with the unveiling of a memorial to him at the Park of Remembrance in Christchurch. The larger-than-life bronze statue is mounted on a stone gifted from Le Quesnoy. The memorial was commissioned by the Canterbury District Returned and Services' Association (RSA) and the Christchurch City Council. Speaking in early 2007, the president of the Canterbury RSA said, 'the completion of this significant memorial will remind us of the bravery of Nicholas and the ultimate sacrifice that he, and many others have paid, to ensure that we have the opportunity to live in peace. The Park of Remembrance is not designed to glorify war, hence Nicholas is not carrying any weapons, rather to ensure that we consider the loss and effect that war has on those that serve and those left waiting at home.'

The funeral of Victoria Cross recipient Henry Nicholas

Following his death, Henry Nicholas was buried in the French cemetery at Beaudignies. However, as the battalion wished to show greater respect, army chaplain Rev. G.T. Robson had the body exhumed and reinterred, with full military honours, among other war graves in the Vertigneul churchyard in northern France. The service was conducted by the Bishop of Nelson, Dr Sadlier, with battalion commander Brigadier-General Young and other officers as pall-bearers.  Robson wrote to Nicholas’s mother, telling her that 'It was an impressive ceremony and thus was laid to rest one of the heroes of the New Zealand Division.'

Henry Nicholas arrived in France in September 1916 and saw action at the Somme. He was involved in many of the actions fought by the New Zealand Division in 1917, including the successful attack on Messines ridge on 7 June. He missed the battle of Passchendaele due to illness but rejoined his Canterbury Regiment in time for the Polderhoek attack on 3 December. His actions there earned him the Victoria Cross.