Henry Higgins
Henry Higgins
| Henry Higgins | |||||||||
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| Born | 1860 | ||||||||
| Died | 1947 | ||||||||
| Residence |
6 Rollestone Drive, Wallasey, Cheshire Netherleigh, 35 Prince's Avenue, Liverpool [1915] 7 St John's Lane, Liverpool [1917] Roualeyn, Trefriw, North Wales [1919] | ||||||||
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Contents
Notes
Office Notes
House Notes
1909.02.23 proposed by W.H. Broad, seconded by A.W. Paterson
1947.10.07 death noted
Notes From Elsewhere
Trefriw Historical Society's oral history project has recorded many memories of Henry Higgins and his legendary generosity to the village.
Every Christmas in the 1930s and 40s the schoolchildren received a present from Mr Higgins and there was a special concert in the school and a Christmas tea.
In 1937 he set up a charity to ensure the work would carry on after his death. Interviewed for the local newspaper he said: "For the past eight or ten years I have given these annual parties to about 180 children and their teachers.
"I want to go on doing it for many years, but I want to be quite certain of them being carried out in the same way.
"That is why I am arranging to preside over them in spirit if not in person. I have worked out the cost, and there is no reason why, even when I am no longer here, the parties should not go on just as smoothly."
During World War II the children were given a savings stamp instead of a present - there is some disagreement about the amount.
Village children still receive a gift of money every Christmas and have use of the playing field he gave in 1930.
Another charity he founded in 1935 provided for a grant to all children born in the parish, but he was generous to older people too.
When he made arrangements for the children's Christmas party he provided for a surplus for 'all the poor, aged, and lonely people of the villages.'
A wonderful old man. The youngest child in the school would be selected to give him a gift
Trefriw villagerOriginally elderly residents were given a present and Christmas tea. Today a donation is made to the Darby and Joan club. He also endowed a bed at the Glyn Nursing Home (now converted to apartments).
Mr Higgins and his wife Caroline Anita Higgins moved to Roualeyn, a lovely house in the upper part of Trefriw on the banks of the river Crafnant, towards the end of World War I.
Today Roualeyn is the home of a prize-winning fuchsia nursery.
He had enjoyed a successful career with the Pearl Insurance Company in Liverpool and when he retired at 60 he was Inspector General.
He did not intend, however, to have a lazy retirement. Soon after moving to Roualeyn he became involved in the life of the village and Conwy Valley.
We all loved him, a white-haired, gentle person'
Trefriw villagerHe was a member of Caernarfonshire County Council until his death and was also chairman of the parish council. He was an instigator of the movement to preserve and renovate the old church at Llanrhychwyn and took a keen interest in measures to relieve the problems of flooding in Trefriw.
After retirement he studied for an MA at Liverpool University. His thesis was on the history of Celtic Nations. He was regarded as an authority on Prehistoric Britain.
He was also an excellent linguist. He could speak French, Spanish and German and when he retired to Trefriw he learnt to speak Welsh.
Romantic
The story of Henry Higgins' life is interesting and romantic. He was born in Monmouthshire in 1860 and as a three-year-old was taken to America by his grandparents.
His formal education ended when he was 12 and he then made his way by taking what jobs he could - in timberyards, iron foundries and on the land.
When he was 17 his sister asked him to return to England, which he did, working his way from Cleveland to New York before sailing.
Back in England, a family friend found him a job with Pearl Assurance, although, influenced by the fact that his mother had French ancestors, he very nearly joined the French army which was fighting in Algeria.
Love intervened. He went on a visit to Hanover, but instead of joining the French army he met and fell in love with Caroline Gilbert. They were married in Hartlepool soon after and had a very happy marriage with two sons and one daughter.
A very kind man. Every child in the school got five shillings in savings stamps'
Trefriw villagerCaroline Gilbert's father was Dr Thomas Barnett Gilbert, organist at St Paul's Cathedral and, according to her obituary, she was a relative of sculptor Sir Alfred Gilbert whose best known work is the statue of Eros in Piccadilly Circus, London.
Mrs Higgins died in 1932 aged 68. There is a window to her memory in Trefriw Parish Church.
Henry Higgins died in 1947 aged 87. A memorial service was held in the village and a plaque commemorating his kindness to the village can be seen to the right of the church door.
A picture of this kindly gentleman has recently been re-hung in Trefriw village school after lying forgotten for many years in the old school house.
