George Frederick's Story.
Birkenhead News 19 July 1916
Death of Major Higgins.
Sportsman and Patriot.
We deeply regret to report the death at the front of Major G. F Higgins of the 1st Battalion of the Pals, a sportsman who was well-known and greatly esteemed in the whole of the Mersey District.
George Frederick Higgins, secretary of the Liverpool Cotton Association, son of F. C. Higgins, cotton broker, born January 29, 1880, educated at Warwick School, member of School Cadet Corps, served in the ranks of the old 2nd V.B, K.L.R., was with Sea Insurance Company for eight years until 1904, when he was appointed assistant secretary to the Liverpool Cotton Association, and in 1909 succeeded Mr. Peter Brown as secretary. On the formation of Lord Derby’s “Pals” Battalion he obtained permission from the directors to join the 1st Battalion. On September 1st 1914 he was gazetted captain and appointed officer commanding No. 1 Company of the battalion (the company, about 300 strong, being largely composed of men from the Cotton Market). His rank of Major dated from August 4th, 1915. The death of Major Higgins will be severely felt in the Cotton Market, and by a very wide circle of friends.
The following “Appreciation” od Major Higgins, written by Mr. Charles Lancaster appeared in the “Liverpool Daily Post and Mercury” on Monday :-
“So ‘George’ has gone! To those who knew and loved him before the German horror drew him with all true Britons into the Army which if fighting for “all we have and are” many memories arise – memories of the days when, as captain of the Mersey Rowing Club, he directed its energies into the achievement of successes which embody the brightest part of its history. Like his father before him, he was one of the best oarsmen the club ever produced. Memories of the Mersey, the Dee and the Thames crowd the minds of those of us who are too old to join the band of heroes, which has long stripped the Mersey Rowing Club and the Birkenhead Park Football Club bare of all its members of military age.
We were all proud of ‘George’. His sturdy manliness, straightforward disposition, the measure of his enthusiasm, and power of hard work in whatsoever his hand turned to, these qualities and gifts will always be cherished by those who were glad to be enrolled in troops of friends who justly esteemed and valued him. No man ever had a deeper sense of duty.
In musical circles, where his fine baritone was always admired, and in the choir of St. Peter’s, Rock Ferry, where he served with singular devotion for a number of years, his name will always sound stirring. At the Royal Golf Club at Hoylake and the Rock Ferry Cricket Club, in all these circles outside business he was welcomed and admired.
In business he was diligent, and in sport he was enthusiastic. His charm of manner, embodying a courtesy which never failed, attracted attention to the high intelligence which won him a coveted position in the business world.
It is hard to part with such men. They already form a great company of souls who have died that we might live; and who can estimate the value which generations yet to come will enshrine their memories? What is before us in the immediate presence of these glorious deaths is the grief of personal loss. But there is yet a glory to be revealed not yet consecrated by the flight of time, when grief is assuaged, and the names of unnumbered thousands of the type of George Higgins will glow in the lustre of the pages of the historian.”
The following has been posted on the doors of the Cotton Exchange :-The directors of the Liverpool Cotton Association wish to place on record the great sorrow at the loss the Association has sustained by the death of Major George F. Higgins.
During the years he held the position as secretary of the association his work on behalf of the members was untiring, his kindly manner and cheerful disposition endearing him to all with whom he came in contact. Major Higgins joined his Majesty’s forces in August, 1914, and since that time devoted his energies to the service of his King and country. He fell in action on July 11, leading an attack at the head of his men/
The flag is flying at half mast over the Cotton Exchange as a mark of respect to the late secretary.