[1][2] He was educated at Union Street School in Dunedin,[3] before working on a dairy farm at Edendale and as a shepherd in Central Otago during his youth.

[4] On 28 February 1911, McNicol married Daisy Edwina Paterson at Farndon, south of Napier, and the couple went on to have three daughters.

When the Dannevirke Evening News was established in 1909, he became that newspaper's sub-editor, but shortly thereafter he was appointed managing editor.

[6] McNicol served as a member of the board of governors of Dannevirke High School, and chaired the local Repatriation Committee following World War I.

[7] McNicol died at his home in Dannevirke on 31 August 1933,[8] and was buried at Mangatera Cemetery.