Patrick Nicolle (15 November 1907 - 30 October 1995; Hampstead, London, UK)
Pat Nicolle was the supreme Medievalist of the British Adventure Strip. His life-long passion for Arms and Armour (the title of his well-known Puffin book) - he was a founder member of the Arms and Armour Society at the Tower of London - found superb expression in his great strip of Norman Invasion, Under the Golden Dragon, together with his Robin Hood and Ginger Tom/ Firebrand strips.

Pat Nicolle was born in Hampstead, London, but the family moved to Birmingham when he was still very young and he spent his boyhood in the Midlands. His elder brother, Jack, was a well-known freelance artist and book illustrator of whom Pat was justifiably proud.

The earliest of Pat's work for boys' papers so far discovered was for the Boys' Own Paper in the mid 1930s - he even painted a cover for one issue - and probably his earliest work for the Amalgamated Press was the cover painting for The Modern Boy's Book of Pirates, published in 1939.

His father served in the First World War, and the family returned to London in 1921. Nicolle excelled at drawing and rugby at school.

After leaving school he worked a variety of jobs, but his temper did him no favours. At the age of nineteen he responded to an ad for an assistant artist-contributor for a woodworking magazine, and stayed there for eight years, while also doing freelance illustration work for furniture catalogues, Odhams Press' children's educational magazine Modern World, and the Boy's Own Paper, among other publications.

Nicolle served with the Royal Engineers during the Second World War. He returned to illustration on demobilisation, but paper shortages reduced his opportunities. He drew comic strips for small independent publishers, including, "Astra the Mystery Air Ace", for a one-off title called Zoom, published by the Children's Press of Glasgow, and "The Mounties Fight Through" for 'Laugh Fun Book, published by Philmar, both in 1947.

In 1950, his illustrations for a Robin Hood book for Thames Publishing Co. were seen by Leonard Matthews Amalgamated Press editor in a Woolworth's store and he was commissioned to draw a two-page complete Robin Hood strip for Knockout. Matthews then recruited him to draw adventure strips, including more Robin Hood stories, westerns and other historical swashbucklers, for his comics, including Knock-Out, The Comet and The Sun. He went on to draw for Lion, TV Fun and Buster.

Later he found himself in his element working for Look and Learn, illustrating, in his inimitable, highly detailed style, countless historical articles and series, as well as painting a glorious full-colour version of Conan Doyle's historical novel, Sir Nigel. Nicolle's expertise on medieval history, his eye for detail and his willingness to spend many hours researching his subjects helped make him one of the finest and longest-serving artists to grace the pages of Look and Learn, his association lasting a full twenty years. From cut-away centre spreads of ancient buildings and the history of armour to the comic strip ‘Sir Nigel', Nicolle never failed to impress.

He also contributed to The Bible Story and Treasure.

He retired in 1982 when Look and Learn closed.

He lived in north London until late in life, when he moved to Loughborough, Leicestershire to stay with his son David and his family. He died on 30 October 1995.
Source: Illustration Art Gallery, David Ashford and Norman Wright; UK Comics Wiki