John Nichol (RAF officer)

Adrian "John" Nichol is a retired Royal Air Force navigator who was shot down and captured during the Gulf War.

Early life
Adrian John Nichol was born in North Shields. He was the youngest of four children, and attended St Joseph's RC Primary School on the A193 in Chirton, north of the Tyne Tunnel. He would travel to St Cuthbert's RC Grammar School on Gretna Road in Newcastle upon Tyne on the train each day. He gained seven O-levels.

His results in the test, to apply for an RAF apprenticeship, were not high enough. He joined the Royal Air Force (RAF) in February 1981 as an electronics technician; having signed up in 1980 and needing sufficient O levels. In the intervening period between school and the RAF, he worked in a large DIY store, although his employers were not aware of his military plans until they sought to promote him to management and he decided to tell them.

RAF career
A normal apprenticeship would be three years; he was a 'direct entry technician' and completed 18 months at the No. 1 Radio School at RAF Locking. After the apprenticeship, he was earning £15,000 in 1982. He went to RAF Brize Norton as a Junior Technician.

In 1986, approaching the age of 23, he applied to become an officer (ultimately the career route of most former grammar-school entrants) and it required a demanding interview with his Station Commander. He was chosen for the four-month officer training course, which involved learning the expected social etiquette of an officer's life. From there he spent three long years learning how to fly and operate aircraft.

Nichol was commissioned as a navigator in December 1986. He served with XV Squadron based at RAF Laarbruch, Germany. During Operation Granby in the Gulf War, the squadron was deployed to Muharraq Airfield in Bahrain. Nichol's first mission, on 17 January 1991, entailed flying as number two to Squadron Leader Paul "Pablo" Mason on an ultra-low-level sortie against Ar Ruma airfield. During the flight, his Panavia Tornado GR1 ZD791 was critically damaged by a shoulder-launched SA-14 surface-to-air missile, and Nichol and his pilot, John Peters, were captured by Iraqi forces. After capture Nichol was shown, bruised, on Iraqi television. He was tortured in the Abu Ghraib prison. Nichol was released by the Iraqis at the end of the Gulf War.

Nichol remained in the RAF until March 1996. After repatriation by the Red Cross, Nichol co-authored a book, Tornado Down, with John Peters, about this experience.

Author and broadcaster
Since 'Tornado Down', Nichol has written eighteen books including five novels: Point of Impact, Vanishing Point, Exclusion Zone, Stinger and Decisive Measures. His latest books provide extensive eyewitness accounts of Second World War history and include The Last Escape, which tells the harrowing story of Allied prisoners of war in the closing stages of the war; Tail-End Charlies, which gives an insight into the final battles of the Allied bomber campaign in the Second World War; and Home Run which recounts the experiences of escaped Allied prisoners of war evading capture in Europe behind enemy lines. Medic: Saving Lives – from Dunkirk to Afghanistan (2009) was short-listed for the 2010 Wellcome Trust Book Prize.

Nichol's last four books - SPITFIRE, LANCASTER, TORNADO and ''EJECT! EJECT! have all been Sunday Times'' bestsellers.

Nichol makes occasional appearances on British television as a presenter and military commentator. He has also worked in radio as a stand-in presenter on talkSport. He is a well known as a motivational and after-dinner speaker.

Personal life
Nichol lives in Hertfordshire. His wife is Suzannah and his daughter Sophie was born in 2005. His parents (now deceased) lived in North Shields.