NoelNICHOLASY Groeslon, Caernarfon (1939 - 2023) Noel Nicholas, former village policeman of Y Groeslon passed away following a short illness on 28th August.
Noel was raised in Letterson, near Fishguard in Pembrokeshire, the second eldest child in a family of six brothers and sisters. He left formal education at 15 to contribute to the family by selling newspapers and as a farmhand before joining the Army, where he became a cartographer with the Royal Engineers.
He travelled overseas with the Royal Engineers, stationing in Malaysia where he surveyed extensively, and then in Singapore where he draughted maps of Asia from aerial photographs. While in Malaysia, Noel was part of a rescue operation to retrieve survivors from a landslide that affected the hillside village where his regiment was stationed. Noel was later awarded the Pinsat Jasa Malaysia medal by the King of Malaysia in recognition of service during the Malaysian Emergency. On his return to the UK, he was briefly attached to the War Office as a draughtsman, followed by a longer attachment at RAF Wyton in Cambridgeshire where Noel again draughted maps from RAF aerial photography.
After the Army, Noel returned to Pembrokeshire where he married and started a family but soon relocated to Flint after he joined the police force. Not long after his initial posting to Flint, he and the family moved to Y Groeslon so Noel could take up a post as the village policeman, which came with a police station and attached home. Y Groeslon would be Noel's home for the remainder of his life, long after village police stations were decommissioned. Although Noel was a serving North Wales policeman until his retirement, he was later based in Penygroes and Caernarfon stations.
Noel found other ways to serve in retirement, mostly by carrying out repairs for his friends and neighbours or making ornamental garden features. He was happiest making and fixing in his shed or spending time teaching his grandchildren how to make and fix things. He is survived by his daughters, grandchildren, sons' in-law, his sisters and brother, and brothers' and sister in-law. He is remembered by his grandchildren as the giver of the best hugs, was perhaps Santa Claus? - and the generous provider of Jaffa cakes and Mr Kipling, and is sorely missed.
Noel's wish was to be cremated without funeral, to avoid travel and Covid complications for mourners. However donations in memory of Noel can be made to the Gurkhas Welfare Trust. Nos da Taid.
Keep me informed of updates
