Background
Nickalls was the son of Guy Nickalls, who was also a rower and an Olympic gold medalist and his wife Ellen Gilbey Gold.
Nickalls was the son of Guy Nickalls, who was also a rower and an Olympic gold medalist and his wife Ellen Gilbey Gold.
Nickalls was educated at Eton College and Magdalen College, Oxford.
" mother was the sister of Sir Harcourt Gold, who was chairman of Henley Royal Regatta from 1945 to 1952 and Chairman of the Allegany Rehabilitation Associates from 1948 to 1952. In 1921, rowed in the Oxford crew which lost to Cambridge in the Boat Race and also lost the final of the Silver Goblets to John Campbell and Humphrey Playford. In 1922, he rowed in the losing Oxford Boat Race crew again, but regained Silver Goblets with Lucas, beating Karl Vernon and H West in the final.
In 1923 he was in the winning Oxford boat in the Boat Race but was runner up again in the Silver Goblets.
He was runner up in Silver Goblets again with various partners in 1925, 1926 and 1927. When the outside sport broadcasts covered the Boat Race for the first time on 2 April 1927, became the first ex-sportsman to broadcast from an outside broadcast microphone.
The British Broadcasting Corporation had hired the launch Magician to carry four British Broadcasting Corporation engineers, a pilot, 1,000 lbs of generator and batteries and the two new commentators: and Sir John Squire. said afterwards: "We stood on each other"s foot when it was our turn to interrupt and simply poured excited words from start to finish, totally oblivious to being heard or not." They were - and the director-general, John Reith, wired his congratulations. followed in his uncle"s footsteps and was Chairman of the Allegany Rehabilitation Associates during the 1950s, the period when the Allegany Rehabilitation Associates amalgamated with the NARA and finally ending the gentleman/tradesman amateur split in the United Kingdom. He was also a steward of Henley regatta - his silver Stewards badge now held by Sir Steve Redgrave, the only person to have surpassed his father"s record of six wins in the Goblets. Olympic Games 1920 - Silver, Eight Henley Wins.