Frederick Higginson: Difference between revisions
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===Post war RAF career=== |
===Post war RAF career=== |
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Sent to the RAF Staff College at Bracknell in 1948, on graduation he was appointed personal staff officer to the Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Training Command. In 1951 he joined the staff of the Army Staff College at Camberley. Promoted [[Wing Commander]] from 1952, he served on the operational requirements staff, also taking a [[helicopter]] course.<ref name=BBM/> |
Sent to the RAF Staff College at Bracknell in 1948, on graduation he was appointed personal staff officer to the Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Training Command. In 1951 he joined the staff of the Army Staff College at Camberley. Promoted [[Wing Commander]] from 1952, he served on the operational requirements staff, also taking a [[helicopter]] course.<ref name=BBM/> |
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===Higginson Trophy=== |
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During his later career, Higginson created a trophy now named after him. The Higginson Trophy is awarded each year to the most outstanding RAF Regiment squadron. To win, a squadron must have shown exceptional leadership, outstanding professionalism and sustained endeavor on both operations and exercises. They must also have displayed support and commitment to the local community.<ref>{{citeweb|url=http://www.harrogateadvertiser.net/northallertonnews/RAF-Leeming-squadron-rewarded-for.1207181.jp|title=RAF Leeming squadron rewarded for exceptional service|publisher=This is Yorkshire|date=30 September 2005|accessdate=2010-11-12}}</ref> |
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===After the RAF=== |
===After the RAF=== |
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Revision as of 01:06, 13 November 2010
Frederick William Higginson | |
|---|---|
| Nickname(s) | "Taffy" |
| Allegiance |  United Kingdom |
| Service/ |  Royal Air Force |
| Years of service | 1929–1956 |
| Rank | Wing Commander |
| Unit | No. 56 Squadron RAF |
| Battles/wars | World War II |
| Awards | Officer of the British Empire Distinguished Flying Cross Distinguished Flying Medal |
| Other work | Director, Bristol Aircraft Ltd |
Wing Commander Frederick "Taffy" Higgson OBE DFC DFM (February 17, 1913 – February 12, 2003),[1] was a fighter ace of the Royal Air Force during World War II. Born in Swansea, Wales, Higginson had joined the RAF as an apprentice straight from school, and had served for 10 years before the outbreak of war. The Flight Sergeant was part of the deployment which went to Dunkirk in 1940, where became an ace within the first six months of the war. Promoted to Captain, By the time he was shot down over Lille, he had reached a tally of 15 victories. After capture, escape to Vichy France, recapture, and a further escape that returned him to England via Monte Carlo and Spain, by late 1942 the air battle required that he used his knowledge in training new pilots and developing improved strategies and tactics. After reaching the rank of Wing Commander, he left the RAF to join the Bristol Aircraft Ltd and became the lead sales director for the Bloodhound missile, in which he had such export success that he was awarded the OBE. In 1969 Higginson retired to a small estate in Carmarthenshire with his family in, where he died in 2003.[1]
Biography
Early life
Frederick William Higginson was the son of a policeman, born into a Welsh language-speaking family in Gorseinon, Swansea, on February 17, 1913.[2] Educated at Gowerton Grammar School, he joined the RAF straight from school as an apprentice in 1929, aged 16. Assigned for training at RAF Halton,[3] he was allocated service number: 44630.[4] In 1932 he was posted as a fitter-airgunner to No.7 bomber squadron.[5]
Pre-war pilot
Accepted for pilot training in 1935, on completion of training he joined the Gloster Gauntlet equipped No.19 Squadron fighter squadron the following year, and then quickly moved to C Flight to form No.66 Squadron. Selected to play rugby for the RAF from 1936, in 1937 he moved the Gloster Gladiator equipped No.56 Squadron, which was then re-equipped with the brand new Hawker Hurricane monoplane fighter.[5]
Battle of Britain
Promoted flight sergeant in 1940, he was sent to Dunkirk, France with "B" Flight. After recording four victories in the Battle of Dunkirk, he returned to England, and awarded the Distinguished Flying Medal on July 27 1940, 16 days after the Battle of Britain began. Praised for having already destroyed at least five enemy aircraft, the cictation stated:[5]
Despite being an airman pilot, he led a section of 56 Squadron during all operations, his determination in the face of the enemy and his cool and courageous leadership being an example to his squadron
Between the 12th of August and the 30th of September, he accounted for a further nine enemy aircraft, reaching a total of at least 15 victories.[5][1][6] On 16th August, after sustaining damage from return fire from a Dornier Do 17 that he had critically damaged, he landed his Hurricane Mk1 (P3547) on the 16th of August 1940 at 17:15 after sustaining damage from the return fire of a Dornier Do 17. On the 18th of August 1940 his Hurricane Mk1 was damaged in combat off the Essex coast.[5] One of his victories during this period was shooting down the ME 109 of Hans Mellangrau over the Thames Estuary. Higginson recalled the fight 60 years later, when the pair met up at a Battle of Britain memorial event:[5]
I saw this Messerschmitt coming towards me and suddenly we were face to face. After he hit my Hurricane's engine with incendiary bullets I shot him down and he crash-landed in a field. By this time his incendiaries had set my engine on fire and I actually crash-landed alongside him
Shot down
On June 17 1941, escorting bombers raiding Lille, Higginson was shot down. Not sure if he was hit by anti-aircraft fire or an enemy fighter, in the resulting explosion the control column snapped at the base, his left boot was torn off and his trousers shredded.[5]
Higginson landed in a wood 12 miles northwest of Fauquembergues, where he was quickly rounded up by a German Army officer and sergeant who arrived on a motorcycle and sidecar combination. Placed in the sidecar, while his captors were distracted by a low-flying Me109, Higginson managed to crash the motorcycle and sidecar into a ditch, and ran off.[1]
Hiding that night in a wood, Higginson made his way to an occupied hut, where he gained clothes and some cash from the owner. Waking into Fauquembergues, he ordered a beer in his limited French.[1] Hitching a lift with a lorry driver, he was taken to a local garage whose owner had contacts with an escape line for Allied airmen. Introduced to British Army Captain Harold "Paul" Cole, a fellow survivor of the Battle of Dunkirk and local co-ordinator of the underground escape route,[5] Cole took him to local priest Abbé Carpentier in Abbeville, who provided Higginson with false identity papers. Higginson then travelled to Paris, where he lodged in a brothel until July 1941.[5]
To allow Higginson to exit via Vichy France to Spain, Cole escorted him on a train journey via Tours and St Martin-le-Beau, where at the station they were questioned by German officers. Not convinced by the story that Higginson was an idiot seeking work, on searching his valise they were unable to find further evidence as its contents were smoothered by chocolate which had melted in the summer heat. They also failed to find the pistol and British passports in Cole's luggage, as it was wrapped in dirty laundry. Cole left Higginson at the Marseilles home of Greek doctor Georges Rodocanochi and his wife, who operated a safe house for Pat O'Leary's MI9 section.[5]
After Cole returned to northern France, Dr Rodocanochi told Higginson that he had discovered that Cole was not in fact a British Army captain, but a sergeant who had absconded with mess funds. Later, having been captured by the German's, Cole informed on Father Carpentier, who was subsequently executed.[5][7]
Recapture
Impatient at being out of the action, Higginson caught a train to Perpignan, where with an Australian Army corporal they persuaded a Catalan to guide them to Spain. Stopped by gendarmes and found to have false papers, Higginson struck one of them. Imprisoned for six months, he was retained in reprisal for a further period after a March 5th, 1942, RAF raid on the Renault factory at Billancourt. Placed in Fort de la Revere above Monte Carlo on March 17th, he decided to assume the name Captain Bennett as he believed the Germans disliked airmen.[5]
Return home
On discovering his retention, and with the RAF short of experienced pilots, MI9 urged O'Leary to get a group of pilots including Higginson back to Britain, under the Special Operations Executive's Operation Titania. Using Polish priest Father Myrda as a go-between, O'Leary smuggled a hacksaw blade into the prison. On the night of August 6, during a noisey inmate-contrived concert in the forts courtyard, Higginson and four other pilots escaped through a coal shute, and out of the fort via an operational sewer. Reaching Cap d'Ail without his supplied ID card, Higginson reached the Scottish tea house in Monte Carlo, a safe house run by spinster Eva Trenchard.[5]
Disguised as priests and accompanied by Father Myrda, the group reached Marseilles. Now accompanied by French underground operatives to Canet Plage, 11 kms due east of Perpignan, it was chosen because the two safe houses - the Hotel du Tennis and Villa Anitawas - could accommodate the 25 man group of agents and pilots.[8] On September 17, the group were picked up from the beach by a dingy from the Q-ship Tarana, a Polish fishing trawler also called the Seawolf. Transferred to the SOE fast patrol boat HMS Minna,[5] she returned to her base in Gibraltar, from where Higginson was flown home to RAF Greenock on October 5, 1942.
To end of WW2
To enable him to return to No.56 squadron, Higginson retrained on the Hawker Typhoon. Following further ariel success, he was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross in New Year, 1943, the citation stated:[5]
He has now destroyed at least 12 enemy aircraft and throughout has displayed great skill and courage in combat with the enemy
Leaving operational flying in 1945, due to the risk to pilot escape routes in France should he be shot down,[1] after a stint with No 83 Group's communications squadron, he was posted in 1946 to Fighter Command's No 11 Group headquarters. Higginson ended the war attached to engineering company Napier & Son,[5] resolving production issues on the Napier Sabre engine installed on the Hawker Typhoon, which were leading to an excess failure rates.[1]
Post war RAF career
Sent to the RAF Staff College at Bracknell in 1948, on graduation he was appointed personal staff officer to the Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Training Command. In 1951 he joined the staff of the Army Staff College at Camberley. Promoted Wing Commander from 1952, he served on the operational requirements staff, also taking a helicopter course.[5]
Higginson Trophy
During his later career, Higginson created a trophy now named after him. The Higginson Trophy is awarded each year to the most outstanding RAF Regiment squadron. To win, a squadron must have shown exceptional leadership, outstanding professionalism and sustained endeavor on both operations and exercises. They must also have displayed support and commitment to the local community.[9]
After the RAF
In 1956 Higginson resigned from the RAF to join the newly demerged Bristol Aircraft Ltd, based in London as its military liaison officer. He played rugby for London Welsh, Richmond and Surrey until he was 40. Appointed sales and service director of the Guided Missiles Division, he was responsible for export sales of the newly developed ground-to-air rocket-powered defensive system, Bloodhound. In 1963 he joined the board of Bristol Aircraft, appointed OBE in the same year for services to industry.[5]
Having met Kuwaiti businessman Abdullah Alireza, in 1964 he left Bristol Aircraft to launch Rezayat Services London office, building a substantial business for the Kuwaiti's European company.[5]
Retirement
After retiring in 1969, he bought Peny-Coed, a 250-acre farm estate with a large 17th century house, in Carmarthenshire.[5] He lived there with his wife Jenny “Shan” Jenkins, whom he had married in 1937, and his four sons. His wife predeceased him in August 2002, while Higginson died on February 12, 2003.[1]
Memorial
Higginson was remembered at his old school in Swansea, with the unveiling of a plaque in November 2010.[10][11]
Combat record
| Date | Service | Flying | Kills | Probables | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 18 June 1940 | Royal Air Force | Hurricane | Joins No. 41 Squadron[13] | ||
| 15 August 1940 | Royal Air Force | Hurricane | 1 *Messerschmitt Bf 110 | Operating from RAF Catterick | |
| 5 September 1940 | Royal Air Force | Hurricane | 2 *Heinkel He 111 2 *Messerschmitt Bf 109 |
Operating from RAF Hornchurch | |
| 6 September 1940 | Royal Air Force | Hurricane | 1 *Junkers 88 | Becomes fighter ace | |
| 9 September 1940 | Royal Air Force | Spitfire | 2 * Messerschmitt Bf 109 | ||
| 11 September 1940 | Royal Air Force | Spitfire | 1 * Junkers Ju 88 1 * Messerschmitt Bf 110 |
Awarded DFC | |
| 14 September 1940 | Royal Air Force | Spitfire | 2 * Bf 109[14] | ||
| 15 September 1940 | Royal Air Force | Spitfire | 1 * Bf 109, 1* Do 17 | ||
| 18 September 1940 | Royal Air Force | Spitfire | 1 * Bf 109 | ||
| 20 September 1940 | Royal Air Force | Spitfire | 1 * 'He 113'(sic), 1 Hs 126 | Awarded Bar to DFC | |
| 5 October 1940 | Royal Air Force | Spitfire | 1 * Bf 109 | ||
| 9 October 1940 | Royal Air Force | Spitfire | 1 * Bf 109[15] | ||
| 11 October 1940 | Royal Air Force | Spitfire | 1 * Bf 109 | ||
| 20 October 1940 | Royal Air Force | Spitfire | 1 * Bf 109 | ||
| 8 November 1940 | Royal Air Force | Spitfire | Shot down over Beachy Head | ||
| 17 November 1940 | Royal Air Force | Spitfire | 2 * Bf 109 | Shot up by Bf 109; crash lands near RAF Martlesham Heath;[16] awarded DSO | |
| 6, 8,14 July 1941 | Royal Air Force | Spitfire MkV | 3 * Messerschmitt Bf 109 | During "sweep" operations | |
| 3 August 1941 | Royal Air Force | Spitfire MkV No. W3257 | Killed in action while undertaking ground strafing attack near Pas-de-Calais | ||
| TOTALS | 26 kills | 8 probable |
Notes
- ^ a b c d e f g h "Obituary: Wing Commander F. W. Higginson, OBE, DFC, DFM, wartime fighter ace". The Times. 14 February, 2003. Retrieved 2010-11-12.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ James Roberts (13 August 2010). "Battle of Britain: Welsh aces". BBC Wales. Retrieved 2010-11-12.
- ^ "Halton Apprentices - The Gallantry Awards and Honours". OldHaltonians.co.uk. Retrieved 2010-11-12.
- ^ Thomas (September 6, 2008). "The airmen from Wales". yourwebbapps. Retrieved 2010-11-12.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t "P/O F W Higginson". Battle of Britain London Momument. Retrieved 2010-11-12.
- ^ "Sgt Fredrick William 'Taffy' Higginson". Battle-of-Britain.co.uk. Retrieved 2010-11-12.
- ^ "Harold Cole". Conscript-Heros.com. Retrieved 2010-11-12.
- ^ "Operation Titania - 21/22 September 1942". conscript-heros.com. Retrieved 2010-11-12.
- ^ "RAF Leeming squadron rewarded for exceptional service". This is Yorkshire. 30 September 2005. Retrieved 2010-11-12.
- ^ "Swansea school honours Battle of Britain fighter ace". BBC Wales. 12 November 2010. Retrieved 2010-11-12.
- ^ Helen Keates (12 November 2010). "School salutes former pupil's battle heroics". South Wales Argus. Retrieved 2010-11-12.
- ^ Aces High, Shores & Williams, page 402- Lock's biography
- ^ The Pilots of 41 Squadron RAF, 1939-1945
- ^ Flight Lieutenant Eric Sawn-Off Lock
- ^ Profiles of the Few - Re: Eric Lock 9 October 1940
- ^ Eric Lock Fighter Aces Online
External links
- BBC Shropshire Bio on Eric Lock
- Military Aviation talk page about Eric Lock
- Bio - Eric Lock at Waffen HQ in German