On this day in 1940 the Battle of Britain began. The first RAF pilot to lose his life in the
battle was Sgt Ian Clenshaw of 253 Squadron when his Hurricane crashed in bad
weather while on dawn patrol from Kirton-in-Lindsey in No. 12 Group. The first pilot to be killed in action was
Flying Officer T.P.K. Higgs of 111 Squadron based at Croydon in the Kenley
sector of Fighter Command’s No.11 Group.
He had family connections in Somerset being the son of Arthur and Alice
Higgs of Shepton Mallet.
At 1000hours on July 10 1940 Higgs was engaged with German
fighters and bombers over a convoy off Folkestone. During this combat his Hurricane collided with
a Dornier 17 bomber and lost a wing with the Dornier 17 crashing at
Dungeness. Although he managed to bale
out Flying Officer Higgs was never found alive. His body came ashore on the Dutch coast on
August 15.
Thomas Peter Kingsland Higgs is buried in a Commonwealth War
Grave in Noordwijk General Cemetery on the coast north of Leiden. He is also commemorated on Shepton Mallet’s
cenotaph type war memorial situated in the town centre.
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| The war memorial in Shepton Mallet, Somerset. |
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| Flying Officer T.P.K. Higgs is remembered on the war memorial in Shepton Mallet, Somerset. |
Sources:
The Fallen Few of the
Battle of Britain, Nigel McCrery & Norman Franks with Edward McManus,
(Pen & Sword Books Ltd., 2015)
The Narrow Margin, Derek
Wood & Derek Dempster, (Hutchinson & Co. (Publishers) Ltd., 1961)
Hello there, Peter Higgs was my mum's boyfriend before he died in the Battle of Britain. She was born and raised in Shepton Mallet (1921-2004). She used to talk to me about him and never forgot him. I shall visit the memorial now, for her. Thanks. Saira H, now living in Frome (but not Somerset born and bred)
ReplyDeleteHello Saira, thanks for your message. It's good to know that Peter Higgs had someone, your mother, who never forgot him, and that you will continue to remember him for her.
DeleteBest regards, Steve W.
Hello Saira, thanks for your comment, I reproduce it below.
ReplyDeleteHi Steve, today I left a little message about/ for Peter Higgs on the Shepton Mallet memorial. Important to remember these young men (and women) who died so prematurely. There were a lot of wreaths and messages on the memorial as last weekend was Rembrance Sunday. Sadly I missed this for Peter's message, but felt glad to have done it, thought about him and we aim to to it again in the future. Saira
Hello again Saira, glad to hear that you were able to visit the memorial and leave a message for him. Don’t be sad that you missed Remembrance Sunday, we can take time to remember those who fell at any of the year. I am pleased to hear you plan to visit the Shepton Mallet memorial again.
My best regards. Steve Wright.