Arthur Akin Higgins

Arthur Akin Higgins was a qualified veterinarian who served as a Captain in the Army Veterinary Corps, spending two years with the British forces in the Balkans during the First World War. He died of bronchial pneumonia following influenza in Salonika on 25 October 1918, aged 32, and was buried at Doiran Military Cemetery in Greece.

Civilian Life - Arthur was born on 11 December 1885 at Kidderpore, Bengal, India, and was baptised there on 1 January 1886. He was the son of Arthur Akin Higgins and Mildred Akin Higgins. (Some explanation as to why he was born in India can be found in his Father’s story below.) In 1891, the family was living at 7 Comiston Road, Edinburgh, where his father was recorded as a tourist agent. Arthur had an older sister, Dorothy, and a younger brother, William Henry, both of whom were also born in India.

Arthur was educated at the Lower School of John Lyon School, Harrow, from 1895 to 1900, and subsequently attended Hitchin Grammar School in Hertfordshire. He went on to study veterinary medicine at the Royal Veterinary College in Edinburgh and qualified as a Member of the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons (MRCVS) in May 1910. By 1911, Arthur was living as a boarder with a family in Hounslow. His occupation was recorded as a veterinarian. In 1915, the electoral register shows him at the same Hounslow address, 37 Bulstrode Road, where furnished accommodation and board cost 23 shillings per week.

Military Life - Arthur Higgins entered military service during the First World War and was commissioned as a temporary Lieutenant in the Army Veterinary Corps in October 1916. He served for two years in the Balkans, attached to the 115th Brigade, Royal Field Artillery, and was promoted to Captain. His service took place during the Salonica campaign. He was Mentioned in Despatches, having been brought to notice by General George Milne, the Commander-in-Chief of the British Salonika Army. The dispatch was submitted to the Secretary of State for War to acknowledge "gallant and distinguished services" rendered during the final stages of the Balkan campaign.

Arthur died from bronchial pneumonia following influenza during the global Spanish Flu pandemic at a casualty clearing station in Salonika on 25 October 1918, aged 32. The date is confirmed by his probate record, death notice, and the Royal Veterinary College's biographical record, despite a conflicting date appearing in one casualty listing. Arthur died only about a month after peace had been declared on the Balkan front.

He was buried at Doiran Military Cemetery in Greece. He is also commemorated by the John Lyon School and the Royal Veterinary College. His probate record recorded effects of £140, with administration granted in London in July 1919.