An extract from the War Diary(1) of the 3rd Field Regiment, Royal Canadian Artillery:
"Place: mr 365955, Date 25 July 43, Sunday
. . .On arrival at the Regtl area a quieter time was anticipated, but shortly after arrival, at approximately 1515 hours, literal hell broke out in the Regtl gun area when a shell landed in the very center of the Regtl Headquarters area. It was followed by many others, and when the dust and smoke had cleared away it was found that there were 1 dead and 6 wounded, and when all noses in the Regt had been counted the total casualties were found to be two dead and eleven wounded. . ."
An extract from the War Diary(2) for July of the 19th Battery, 3rd Cdn. Field Regt.
"The first casualty occurred when Sjt. G.J. Jack was kiilled in an unfortunate accident on the third day of the campaign. During the shelling received near Nissoria, L/Bdr. R.G. "Robbie" Nicol (sic.) was killed while working at his director. Both men were popular with the battery and their loss was keenly felt."
The Second World War Book of Remembrancs(3)
As with others who were killed in the service of Canada in World War II, Robbie's name is immortalized by being listed in the Second World War Book of Remembrance at the Peace Tower in the Houses of Parliament in Ottawa. The last entry on page 198 reads "L/Bdr. Robert Gunn Nicoll RCA"
Observations:
From these (and the date of his death which is given on his grave stone) that Robbie was killed in the counter battery fire on 25 July at map reference 365955 near Nissoria, at about 3:15 in the afternoon, while working at his director. (A director is a sighting device which is used on a field artillery piece to ensure that all guns in a battery are firing in exactly the same direction).
A "L/Bdr" -- "Lance Bombardier" -- is the equivalent of an acting corporal in the infantry. It was unusual for "other ranks" (that is non-commissioned personnel) to be mentioned by name in war diaries. In the regimental diary the only casualty of the action who is mentioned by name is a Captain who was wounded -- he may have died of his wounds later, as he is also buried at Agira, with date of death indicated as August 3. Of the various casualties which occurred in the regiment during the month, Sgt. Jack, the first casualty, and Robbie, are the only ones mentioned by name.
It is interesting, also, to note that Robbie's rank was given as L/Bdr. in the war diary and in the Book of Remembrance , whereas his rank on his headstone is listed as Gunner. In the next row is the grave of another member of the RCA where the rank is listed as L/Bdr. This appears to indicate that Robbie's headstone is not correct.
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