Alternate name(s):
Jim Higgins; Henry James Higgins; Higgens
Nickname:
Jim; Jimmie; Jimmy; Harry
Date of birth:
Friday, 26 July 1907
Marital status:
married to Reta Florence Palliser
Children:
5
Ethnicity/Nationality:
English
Profession:
carpenter; painter
Hometown(s):
Peterborough, Ontario; Saskatoon, Saskatchewan; Wandsworth, Clapham, England
Date of Immigration to Canada:
August 1926
Education:
Ardwick Industrial School (Manchester); Industrial School (Bristol)
Political affiliation:
Member of the Co-operative Commonwealth Federation; Later, the NDP; Anti-fascist
Approximate date arrived in Spain:
1937-10-28
Unit:
Trained with the 2nd Battalion of Instruction; Mackenzie Papineau Battalion, Company 3; Sent to Cabo School in May 1938 35 Division, Special Machine Gun Battalion, Cabo and acting Sergeant, Company commissar; Served at Teruel, The Retreats, and the Ebro Offensive
Final status:
WIA 2 April 1938 during the Retreats west of Gandesa when his truck overturned in a crater, in hospital at Valls from 3 to 29 April; Sent to hospital for illness at Barcelona and Vich on 23 September 1938; Cited for bravery; Survived; Returned to Canada on 3 February 1939 aboard the Duchess of Richmond; Mackenzie Papineau Veterans Association (1977); Died 18 September 1982
Other:
According to Bill Beeching, Higgins jumped into a river to save a wounded Spanish child during a battle. The child, Manual Alvarez, later moved to Canada and recorded his memories of his search for Higgins in his book The Tall Soldier. Higgins wrote a memoir of the 1930s: it is currently being edited for publication by his daughter, Janette Higgins.
Sources:
Figueres List; RGASPI Fond 545, Opis 6, Delo 552, ll. 3-7; NAC, M-P Collection, Cecil-Smith, V. 1, F. 16, Memoirs and Accounts of Service in Spain, Higgins, H. J., 2 accounts, 12 pages; no date and March 31, 1938; Hoar, p188; Momryk; Petrou; Ancestry; Hoff; Janette Higgins
