Patteson Nickalls went up to New College, Oxford from Rugby where he played polo against Cambridge in 1895, 1896, and 1897, thus making him the only Blue on the Roehampton team that won the gold medals at the 1908 Olympics. At the outbreak of the Boer War, Nickalls was gazetted to the Durham Light Infantry and took part in the Relief of Ladysmith. In 1901 he became a member of the Stock Exchange but rejoined the Colours in 1914, winning a DSO in 1918 when he was gravely wounded in World War I.
Nickalls was an 8-goal handicap in polo who won the Hurlingham Champion Cup in 1905, 1906, and 1909 with Roehampton, and 1911 with Eaton. His other titles included the All-Ireland Open, Patriotic, Rugby Open, Hunt, Public Schools, and County Cups. A member of the Polo Pony Society, he later managed the Rugby Club.
Great Britain