Private James Arnold Higgins
| Date of Birth | c. 1899 |
|---|---|
| Age at Death | 19 |
| Date of Death | 16 September 1918 |
| Service Number | 517254 |
| Military Service | 4 Battalion London Scottish |
| Merton Address | 77 High Street, Wimbledon |
| Local Memorial | Wimbledon Parish Church |
Additional Information
James was baptised at St Mary’s Wimbledon on 26th November 1899. James lived with his father, George John Higgins who was a butcher, and his mother Emma Grace, his two brothers John and Stanley, and his two sisters Edith and Elizabeth, as well as his aunt Ann Dowey. Before enlistment on 20 September 1917 he was an engineering apprentice.
He enlisted on 20 September 1917 at the Central London Recruitment Depot, Whitehall. He went to France 12th May 1918, and was attached to the Gordon Highlanders with effect from 14th May. James received a head wound from a shell on 23rd August 1918, from which he died on 16th September of that year, aged 19. On his gravestone in the Abbeyville Cemetery are the words his mother requested: “His loving memory and his sweet smile are always with us.”