Rifleman James Nimmo

Captain James Nimmo was born in 1897 and grew up in the North Otago town of Ngāpara. He was working for his father as a coal miner when the war broke out, and he enlisted in 1917, just one day before his 20th birthday.

Nimmo dropped his first name ‘Captain’ – for obvious reasons – and went by his middle name, James.

Nimmo began active service in February 1918 and left New Zealand with the 37th Reinforcements in May that year. He joined the 3rd New Zealand Rifle Brigade in September and proceeded to France.

Nimmo arrived on the Western Front in the final stages of the First World War, during the time of the rapid Allied advancements that came to be called the Hundred Days Offensive.

On 4 November 1918, Nimmo’s unit took part in the capture of Le Quesnoy. His group advanced towards the town, while other New Zealand soldiers advanced around the sides of the town, looking for any Germans still defending.

The whole of the 1500 yards proved to be a series of orchards. Fences through which holes had to be chopped were very numerous. We had no trouble until the finish and we struck a machine gun there. Had just about got into position to bomb them out when another mob of our boys came round from the other side of the town to connect up with us. They were right on Jerrie before he saw them and he surrendered immediately.

That was our job finished and we moved back and took up a position outside one of the entrances. The position at this stage was that we had surrounded the town, gone miles past it and were still advancing. Jerrie was still in the town.

Nimmo later wrote about how surprised he was to still be alive following an encounter with more German defenders at Le Quesnoy.

Looking for another patrol which had earlier gone missing, Nimmo and his comrades were at first swarmed by jubilant French residents of the town.

We got into the town and were simply overwhelmed by civies. Laughing, crying, and just about mad with joy. It was ten minutes before we could get away from them. Then two of us searched everywhere near the gate but found no Jerries.

A civie took the lead, and we started off getting a pancake each on the way. Had just got a mouthful when the old boy opened out from 50 yards down the street. The civie got one through the hand. One of my mates got one through the leg and one in the arm.

There was no shelter and there was nothing for us to do but run for it. A good hundred yards. Could see the bullets hitting the cobbles in front of us, and were getting pieces of brick from behind, but neither of us got hit.

Nimmo was lucky to escape unscathed.

That evening, the German garrison surrendered, and the town of Le Quesnoy was liberated.

Following the armistice, which came one week later, Nimmo went on to take part in the occupation of Germany. Crossing the Rhine with his battalion left a huge impression on him.

The old war finished, and the knowledge that we have smashed Prussian Militarism, for good, I hope, & the prospect of us all returning home within a short period ought to make this Xmas an unforgettable one.

For my part there is only one other day which will outlast this Xmas in my memory, and that is last Sunday December 22nd. The day we first set foot on German soil.

I can’t write or couldn’t even tell you how I felt that day, & when we marched through the streets of Cologne and crossed the Rhine that evening, – well, that is simply indescribable…

Nimmo returned to New Zealand in 1919, and lived in Ngāpara until shortly before his death in 1979.