German army pickelhaube : Lance Sergeant W E Nicholson, 55 Battalion, AIF

German army Prussian soldier's standard black patent leather pickelhaube. All the fittings present are of brass, except the spike which is made from tin plate in the shape of a cone and attached to the helmet with split metal ears. The leather liner is intact and marked with the manufacturer's details, 'SPEZIALHAUS GLOBUS MAX BRUCKNER.' Other markings on the liner include '147 BD III 1915' (Bavarian Corps III Bekleidungs (clothing) Depot). '57' is marked twice, and written by hand in pencil is 'E W NICHOLSON 2903'. The helmet plate, national and state cockades, and chinstrap are missing.

This pickelhaube was captured during the battle of Fromelles, on 19-20 July 1916, by Lance Sergeant Wallace Edwin Nicholson, of 55 Battalion, AIF.

Nicholson was born in April 1895 at Bombala, NSW. He was a bank clerk when he enlisted in the AIF the 22 July 1915 at Liverpool, where he was allotted to the 6th Reinforcements to 17 Battalion.

Nicholson embarked for overseas service in November 1915. On his arrival in Egypt, on 16 December, he was admitted to 4 Auxiliary Hospital at Abbassia, suffering from mumps. 55 Battalion was being formed in Egypt in February 1916 as part of the 'doubling' of the AIF, and it was to this unit that Nicholson was reallotted after his discharge from hospital.

Nicholson was promoted to corporal in May 1916 and moved to France with his Battalion on 19 June, arriving there on 29 June. The battalion entered the frontline trenches for the first time on 12 July and fought its first major battle at Fromelles a week later. During the battle, on 20 July, Nicholson suffered a gunshot wound in his back; he recovered quickly from his wound and rejoined his unit on 13 August. A week later he was promoted to lance sergeant.

After a freezing winter manning trenches in the Somme Valley, in early 1917 Nicholson and his battalion participated in the advance that followed the German retreat to the Hindenburg Line. Later in the year, the AIF's focus of operations switched to the Ypres sector in Belgium. Nicholson fought at Polygon Wood on 26 September. He went on leave in late February 1918, returning to his unit on 12 April.

During the German offensive of late March, 55 Battalion were held the line north of Villers-Bretonneux. On 20 April Nicholson was shot in his left leg while the battalion was defending these positions. After recovering from his wounds Nicholson went back to his unit on 12 July 1918. The battalion played a critical role in the capture of Péronne, which fell on 2 September. Its last major battle of the war, at St Quentin Canal, took place between 29 September and 2 October 1918.

Nicholson left England to return to Australia on the 12 July 1919 and arrived in Sydney on 26 August. He was discharged medically unfit on 1 November with deafness in his left ear.