William Higgins was the only son of William and Elizabeth Higgins. William John Higgins was born on 10th March 1896 in Magherafelt. By 1911 William had left school and was working as a telegraph messenger. He worked for the Midland Railway Company. The family lived in King Street. William’s mother died on 4th December 1914.illiam joined the 3rd Battalion of the Royal Irish Rifles in the early summer of 1915. William’s sister died on 3rd October 1915, aged just 16. Private William Higgins was serving with the 1st Battalion of the Royal Irish Rifles when he was killed in action on 12th April 1916. He was 20 years old.
Further Information
William Higgins was the only son of William and Elizabeth Higgins. William Higgins married Elizabeth Evans on 10th May 1895 in Magherafelt.
William John Higgins was born on 10th March 1896 in Magherafelt.
The 1901 census lists William J as age 5, living with the family at house 25 in King Street, Magherafelt, County Londonderry. His father was a farm servant.
Family: William Higgins, Elizabeth Higgins, William John Higgins (born 10th March 1896), Sarah Elizabeth Higgins (born 24th April 1899), Ellen Higgins (born 5th August 1901), Mary Higgins (born 2nd November 1909).
The 1911 census lists William John as age 15, living with the family at house 16 in King Street, Magherafelt. William had left school and was working as a telegraph messenger. A report in a local newspaper records that he worked for the Midland Railway Company in Magherafelt.
William was one of the principal members of the Glenbrook Boy Scouts. He was the first member of St Swithin’s Church Sunday School to be killed in the war.
William’s mother, Elizabeth Higgins, died on 4th December 1914, aged 39.
William joined the 3rd Battalion of the Royal Irish Rifles in the early summer of 1915.
William’s sister, Sarah Higgins, died on 3rd October 1915, aged just 16.
Private William Higgins was serving with the 1st Battalion of the Royal Irish Rifles when he was killed in action on 12th April 1916. He was 20 years old.
From the Mid Ulster Mail dated Saturday 13th May 1916: Private William Higgins, Royal Irish Rifles
Official intimation has been received by Mr William Higgins, Kings Street, Magherafelt that his son, Private William Higgins, Royal Irish Rifles, has succumbed to wounds received in action with the British Expeditionary Force. The late Private Higgins reached his 20th birthday in March. He joined the 3rd Battalion of the Royal Irish Rifles early last summer, prior to which he was a valued employee of the Midland Railway Company at Magherafelt. Private Higgins was an exemplary young man, and one of the principal members of the Glenbrook Boy Scouts, who feel his loss very much. He is the first member of St Swithin’s Church Sunday School to lay down his life in the cause of freedom. At the evening service in St Swithin’s Church on Sunday, the Rector, Rev G W Lindsay, A.M., voiced the sentiments of the parishioners at the loss that had been sustained. Great sympathy is felt for the deceased’s father, who quite recently lost by death his wife and eldest girl.
Last Will and Testament of Private William Higgins
In the event of my death, I give all my property and effects to my father W Higgins, King Street, Magherafelt, co. Derry. Ireland. Rifleman W J Higgins 7515 R I Rifles. 14th December 1915.
Private William Higgins is buried in Warloy-Baillon Communal Cemetery. Warloy-Baillon is a village about 21 kilometres north-east of Amiens in France.
The CWGC record Private William John Higgins as the son of William Higgins of King Street, Magherafelt, Co. Londonderry.
