South Yorkshire Times, October 16th 1943
Wounded Man Home
The first wounded soldier from Malta to come to Darfield is C. Nicholls, of the Royal Engineers. He is stationed at hospital in England and has been allowed home on sick leave, His mother resides in West Street.
Nicholls, who has been in Malta for over two years, joined up 4 ½ years ago, was in the Dunkirk evacuation. He was transferred to the Royal Engineers and was in the siege of Malta from the beginning to the end. He sustained a fractured skull, broken ribs and a broken finger.
While in hospital in Malta he has been frequently visited by a Darfield member of the R.A.F. and a Darfield member of the Royal Navy, to both of whom he is most grateful. They were Sergt. Norman Roebuck of West Street, Darfield, and Petty Officer Ted Sayles, also of West Street. The latter is husband of the Darfield Wings for Victory Queen. Nicholls is also grateful to Darfield Comforts Fund for gifts which he received while abroad. Some took a long time to follow him round, but always reached him eventually. He had the experience of being flown from Malta to Tunis by hospital plane.
His brother Jack is out in North Africa attached to the R.AM.C., and will be pleased to learn that his brother is home once more. His mother was the only Darfield woman to be presented to the late Duke of Kent on a visit he made to Darfield a few years ago, when he visited the Land Settlement Scheme at Inkerman.