HIGGINS, James Edward
| Service Number: | 3140 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 28 July 1915, Melbourne, Vic. |
| Last Rank: | Corporal |
| Last Unit: | 15th Light Trench Mortar Battery |
| Born: | Newstead, Victoria, Australia, 1893 |
| Home Town: | Newmarket, Victoria |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Orchardist |
| Died: | Died of wounds, Belgium, 27 September 1917 |
| Cemetery: |
Menin Road South Military Cemetery Plot I, Row S, Grave NO. 39, Menin Road South Military Cemetery, Ypres, Flanders, Belgium |
| Memorials: | Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour |
World War 1 Service
| 28 Jul 1915: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Private, 3140, 23rd Infantry Battalion, Melbourne, Vic. | |
|---|---|---|
| 26 Nov 1915: | Involvement AIF WW1, Private, 3140, 23rd Infantry Battalion, Enlistment/Embarkation WW1, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '14' embarkation_place: Melbourne embarkation_ship: HMAT Commonwealth embarkation_ship_number: A73 public_note: '' | |
| 26 Nov 1915: | Embarked AIF WW1, Private, 3140, 23rd Infantry Battalion, HMAT Commonwealth, Melbourne | |
| 23 Feb 1916: | Transferred AIF WW1, Private, 58th Infantry Battalion, Egypt | |
| 5 Jul 1916: | Transferred AIF WW1, Private, 15th Light Trench Mortar Battery, France | |
| 19 Jul 1916: | Involvement AIF WW1, Private, 3140, 15th Light Trench Mortar Battery, Fromelles (Fleurbaix) | |
| 26 Jan 1917: | Promoted AIF WW1, Lance Corporal, 15th Light Trench Mortar Battery, France | |
| 25 Aug 1917: | Promoted AIF WW1, Corporal, 15th Light Trench Mortar Battery, Belgium | |
| 25 Sep 1917: | Wounded AIF WW1, Corporal, 3140, 15th Light Trench Mortar Battery, Polygon Wood, SW to leg and ankle. Evacuated to 6th Australian Field Ambulance however died of wounds 27 September 1917 near Ypres. | |
| 27 Sep 1917: | Involvement AIF WW1, Corporal, 3140, 15th Light Trench Mortar Battery, Polygon Wood, --- :awm_ww1_roll_of_honour_import: awm_service_number: 3140 awm_unit: 15th Australian Light Trench Mortar Battery awm_rank: Corporal awm_died_date: 1917-09-27 |
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Add my storyBiography contributed by Robert Wight
A 21 year old orchardist prior to enlisting on 31 July 1915, Pte James Edward Higgins embarked for overseas with the 7th Reinforcements from Melbourne aboard HMAT Commonwealth (A73) on 26 November 1915.
After arriving in Egypt, he transferred to the 58th Battalion and proceeded with them to France in June 1916. He was promoted to Lance Corporal and then transferred to the 15th Light Trench Mortar battery.
A month after being promoted to Corporal (Cpl), he was wounded in action on 25 September 1917 and died from his wounds two days later. Cpl Higgins is buried in the Menin Road South Military Cemetery, Ypres, Belgium.
Source: AWM
Biography contributed by Allen Hancock
James Edward Higgins was born on 16 Oct 1893 in Yandoit, Victoria the son of James Higgins and Charlotte Richardson. He was working as an orchardist in 1915 when he enlisted in the AIF as a member of the 58th Infantry Battalion. He left Australia on 26 Nov 1915 aboard the troopship Commonwealth bound for Egypt eventually joining his unit on 23 Feb 1916 as they were reorganising after the evacuation of Gallipoli.
The battalion left Egypt aboard the troopship Transylvania on 17 Jun 1916 arriving at Marseilles 6 days later. On 5 Jul 1916 James was transferred to the 15th Light Trench Mortar Battery, part of the 15th Infantry Brigade. Two weeks later the brigade saw its first action in the attack at Fromelles.
In Feb 1917 James was promoted to Lance Corporal and in May he was again promoted to Temporary Corporal. The was made a permanent rank on 31 August. A week after this he was detached to the 2nd Army Trench Mortar School for training, rejoining his unit on 16 Sep 1917.
The Battle of Polygon Wood was the 1st ANZAC Corps component of a larger British and dominion operation staged as part of the third battle of Ypres. Scheduled to begin on 26 Sep, the attack was almost derailed by a German attack on the British X Corps to the south of 1st ANZAC Corps. A day earlier, Australian troops of the 15th Brigade, preparing for their attack, took part in fending off the Germans. (1)
On 25 Sep 1917 James was leading a group of eight men on a work party to the brigade's front line in an area known as Hooge Crater. A German artillery shell landed in the crater killing the entire work party leaving James with one leg blown off and the other shattered but still alive. He was taken to the dressing station and then to the 6th Australian Field Ambulance where he died two days later. (2)
James was buried at the Menin Road South Military Cemetery.
(1) Battle of Polygon Wood. Australian War Memorial https://www.awm.gov.au/collection/E84337
(2) Australian Red Cross Wounded and Missing Files, James Edward Higgins. Australian War Memorial. https://www.awm.gov.au/collection/R1487360
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