Nicol, Eric, 1919-2011

Eric Nicol was born in Kingston, Ontario. He later moved to Vancouver and attended the University of British Columbia where he received his B.A. in 1941. From 1942 to 1945, Nicol served with the ground crew of the Royal Canadian Air Force, where he started his career as a writer. He contributed articles to the RCAF publications under the name "Jabez". He returned to UBC after the war as an instructor in English and received his M.A. in French in 1948. After spending one year at the the Sorbonne, Nicol moved to London where he wrote several comedy series for the British Broadcasting Corporation. He also wrote occasional columns for the Vancouver Province. In 1948, his first book, "Sense and Nonsense" was published. He returned to Vancouver as a columnist for the Province where he worked from 1951 to 1985. His columns commented on many contentious issues including capital punishment and fluoridation. Nicol's writing career encompasses a wide range of activity including stage plays, radio and television plays, revues, radio and television variety shows, magazine articles, and humour and historical books. He received a Leacock Medal for Humour on three occasions.

From the description of Eric Nicol fonds. 1944-1992. (University of British Columbia Library). WorldCat record id: 606461571