Captain Mervyn Bournes Higgins
Australian War MemorialMervyn Higgins was born on the 8th of November 1887 in the Melbourne suburb of Malvern, the only child of Justice of the High Court of Australia Henry Bournes Higgins and his wife Mary.
Mervyn Higgins enlisted in the Australian Imperial Force on the 4th of November 1914. He was assigned to the 8th Australian Light Horse Regiment with the rank of private and was sent to Broadmeadows camp. Completing officers training, he received his commission as a 2nd lieutenant on the 3rd of February 1915.
Higgins arrived on the Gallipoli Peninsula in May and was promoted to lieutenant. In August, he took part in the Light Horse’s disastrous attack at the Nek and was one of only two officers in his unit to survive the battle, which cost hundreds of Australian casualties.
He was promoted to the rank of temporary captain and adjutant shortly after the bloody August offensive. His unit played a predominantly defensive role on the peninsula from that point until December 1915 when the campaign was abandoned and his unit returned to Egypt.
In January 1916, Higgins promotion to captain was finalised. Two months later, his unit became part of the Anzac Mounted Division and joined troops defending the vital Suez Canal from Ottoman forces.
On the morning of the 23rd of December, members of the Australian Flying Corps bombed Turkish positions at Magdhaba. Mounted units attacked shortly after, attempting to encircle the enemy and force their surrender. Higgins unit attacked via the northern flank, coming under heavy fire from enemy lines. Pushing through, the enemy garrison surrendered that afternoon. Allied units took nearly 1,300 prisoners, but suffered 146 casualties of their own. Among the dead was Captain Mervyn Higgins, who had been shot through the head and killed instantly.
Captain Higgins was buried near where he fell. His remains were later moved to Kantara War Memorial Cemetery, where they lie today among more than 2,000 soldiers of the First World War.
His parents received multiple letters of condolence from their son’s comrades and close friends, including Major McLaurin, who wrote:
“Poor Merv was one of the bravest men I have ever known and was absolutely without fear. Had he lived I feel sure he would have risen high, but as it was his fate to be killed I am certain that he would have chosen to die with his face to the enemy, fighting for his King and country. Australia can ill-afford to lose such men.”
Captain Mervyn Bournes Higgins was 29 years old.
- Australian War Memorial https://www.awm.gov.au/collection/R1634530