Higgins Biography (my version)
Holmesdmd
station in Atlanta and once on WOR. Having no idea that such things were
available on the internet, I used the opportunity to write an episode guide and
biography of Higgins. The order of the information is my own idea. There
could be different interpretations of the same information.
Here is the biography I compiled (with episode titles by the entry). Enjoy.
Sincerely,
Gary Holmes
Sergeant Major Jonathan Quail Higgins, V.C., British Army (retired)
Title: Baron of Perth
Born: 1920 to Albert Stanley Higgins and Mrs. Higgins
History:3 wars, 5 insurrections, and 37 years in Her Majesty's Service
Before World War II:
· 7 years old: sent to military school ("Tran Quoc Jones").
· designed a boat to ferry people across the English Channel and fish. ("Home
From The Sea")
· saved Lady Ashley on a runaway horse in Hyde Park ("Echoes Of The Mind").
· In the Winter of his third year at Sandhurst, Higgins is blamed for a prank
in which one of his fellow students is paralyzed. He is expelled from the
school, rather than revealing the student who is really to blame. His father
is outraged, and Higgins leaves home to enlist in the British Army. Agatha's
cousin, Charles "Pucker" Briggs was at Sandhurst at the same time ("Echoes Of
The Mind")
· England-helped prepare Don Budge for Wimbledon. Higgins was known as one of
the top players in Her Majesty's Service ("Mixed Doubles"). (Don Budge won
Wimbledon in 1937 and 1938. I'm sure Higgins prepared him for a winning
performance.)
During the war as a member of the Prince of Wales own West Yorkshire Regiment
("Mr. White Death") or Prince of Wales Fusiliers ("Tropical Madness"):
· 1941-shot ("Italian Ice")
· Africa-wounded and stranded on an island off the north coast of Africa.
Higgins built a raft he named the "Zeus and Apollo." ("Operation: Silent
Night")
· 1942-spent six months in Turvia (high in the Pieranes mountains) recovering
from a leg wound in a monastery. The monks were sworn to silence, so Higgins
talked to them. They couldn't respond, until one day a monk responded in a
very unexpected and not very religious manner. ("The Big Blow")
· 1942, Alexandria, Egypt-As a 22 year old lance corporal, he was forced to
feign marriage to three Bedouin women. "As the hot-blooded princess doused the
light in their tent, I remembered a chapter from Rommel's tank warfare
book."("I Do?")
· Tobruk, Libya-Higgins out-raced a Panzer tank while in a half-track with two
British soldiers and one GI. ("Computer Date") (This probably happened around
June 21, 1942, when Rommel captured Tobruk.)
· Africa-steals water from a German well while on night patrol ("Skin Deep").
· North Africa-captures SS officer and interrogates him about Rommel's plans.
("Texas Lightning") (This probably happened between June 1942 and May 1943.)
· 1942, North Africa-organized basketball game to increase morale before the
Allies took Tripoli. ("Basket Case")
· North Africa-attached to Alexander's command and fought Rommel. ("Black On
White") (Field Marshal Earl Harold Rupert Leofric George Alexander was
Commander in Chief, Middle East from July 1942 through May 1943 when Rommel was
defeated-presumably this happened during that time.)
· North Africa Campaign-Everyone is killed in his unit by Germans, except
Higgins. ("Smaller Than Life")
· North Africa Campaign-shoots another British soldier, pays for the soldier's
son to go to law school. ("On Face Value")
· Sahara-with Corky Bostwick and "Puddin' Head" Eldridge. Higgins' nick name
is "Punky." ("Mr. White Death")
· August 1942, North Africa-After 72 hours of constant shelling, Donald Gilbert
is thought dead. His brother Inky later owns a traveling circus. ("I Never
Wanted To Go To France, Anyway…")
· Summer 1942-removed from North Africa and attached to the Australian 7th
division in New Guinea to push the Japanese across an island. Higgins' troops,
sick with malaria, and the Japanese soldiers ran out of ammo. They traded food
for quinine. Higgins became aquatinted with Sato Ozawa. Higgins found him
later in a prisoner of war camp and continued to correspond over the years.
("The Eighth Part Of The Village")
· 1943, Malaysia-During a lull in battle, Lieutenant Ian Bowery began reciting
"Gunga Din." The Japanese allowed everyone to leave, but kept Bowery while he
recited other Kipling stories. His whereabouts are unknown to this day. ("Who
Is Don Luis Higgins…And Why Is He Doing These Terrible Things To Me?")
· 1943, Malaysia-separated from his unit in a skirmish. Spent nine days alone
in the jungle and overcame four Japanese soldiers. ("Autumn Warrior")
· As a lance corporal-helped build the bridge over the river Kwai, but escaped
before it was destroyed. ("Did You See The Sunrise?")
· January, 1944, Anzio, Italy-Corky Bostwick looses a leg. ("Mr. White Death")
· Early 1944, Monte Casino ("Basket Case")
· 1944, Burma-helps train local Burmese troops while Merrill's Marauders were
also in Burma. ("A Girl Named Sue")
· Burma-acted as the British liaison to Merrill's Marauders (probably also
1944). ("Try To Remember")
· Burma-creates new library filing system with an army clerk. ("Rapture")
· Burma-Someone tries to kill Higgins, but someone else gets in the way. ("Did
You See The Sunrise?")
· Burma-involved in Operation Neville at the Irrawaddy Bridge. ("The Look")
(The Irrawaddy River is crossed only by the Ava Bridge, which spans the river
below Mandalay-presumably the same bridge.)
· Kwangju, South Korea-took combat photos of a Japanese destroyer while on an
attacking torpedo boat. ("Memories Are Forever")
· 1944, in the Pacific-painted with watercolors while waiting for battle.
· June 6, 1944, 1500 hours, Gold Beach, Normandy, France-sees Elmo Ziller and
shouts "Get your ruddy posterior down before it is shot off!" ("The Elmo Ziller
Story")
· 1944, Mexico-breaks into the Bank of Mexico to steal Nazi documents for MI6.
Meets Garwood Huddle. ("The Legacy Of Garwood Huddle")
· Broke into safe in Nazi high command. ("Luther Gillis File #001")
· Moscow-sent there with Lieutenant Bainworthy. They saw a Russian soldier
return from the front and learn that his family has dead. He pounds his fists
into a brick wall until nothing was left but a bloody pulp. ("Laura")
· Private Channing sat up and asked for a pint of stout. ("Infinity And Jelly
Donuts")
· Cairo, Egypt-briefly attached to the British Museum there. ("China Doll")
· At the end of the war-temporarily attached to MI5 inspecting phony documents.
Helped apprehend a German general disguised as an Albanian countess. "He was
too attractive to be an Albanian countess." ("Tigers Fan")
· Lady Penelope (also referred to as "Elizabeth") Ashley ("She was constructed
like the Prince Albert Memorial") left Higgins for a podiatrist while he was in
the service. ("Computer Date", "Memories Are Forever")
· Lady Wilkerson, the Duchess of Whit, helped Higgins during the war by sending
someone back to take him to his unit. She was visiting the troops at his camp
and saw him stranded by his damaged truck. He refused a ride because he was
dirty. ("Letter To A Duchess")
After the war:
· London-Higgins sees Lady Wilkerson, but he can't find a way to speak to her.
("Letter To A Duchess")
· English Channel-had to stop 2 miles from the shore while swimming the
Channel. ("Home From The Sea")
· 1946, Suez ("Never Again…Never Again")
· Nuremberg-saw Nuremberg Trials. ("Never Again…Never Again")
· Lizard Island-Kenaka boy fell into the mouth of a crocodile. Higgins killed
it "naturally with one shot." ("Straight And Narrow")
· Vienna-acted as liaison to the Soviet occupation army. ("From Moscow To
Maui")
· Pakistan-Teddy Fabershaw, a young lieutenant who worshipped lizards, lost his
commission when caught with Colonel Meachem's daughter in an abhorrent act.
("Home From The Sea")
· Africa-surrounded by cannibals for 39 days. ("Jororo Farewell")
· Kenya-shot by a Belgian while hunting white rhino. ("Under World")
· 1947, Cambridge-received a doctorate in mathematics. ("The Big Blow")
· Spring, 1948-acted as military advisor to General Chiang Kai-shek's 5th
Division. The general in charge of the unit didn't listen to Higgins. He is
now the dishwasher in a mediocre Mandarin Chinese restaurant in Stockton,
California. ("The Big Blow")
· 1948, Mandalay, Burma-When Burma received its independence, Higgins acted as
aide to the former British governor. ("The Taking Of Dick McWilliams")
· 1948, Madagascar-with Corporal Abbott. ("Squeeze Play")
· 1948, Palestine-while on patrol with his soldiers, he refuses to shoot Asher
Solomon when he comes ashore. Years later, they met in Trafalgar Square,
Higgins told Solomon that he "could not shoot unarmed refugees. I was obeying
a higher law." ("Torah, Torah, Torah")
· 1949, India-assigned to Lord Mountbatten while his own sergeant major was
recovering from a mishap with a sacred cow. (This probably was in 1948. Lord
Mountbatten left India after serving as India's first governor-general until
1948, when he returned to Britain.)("Mac's Back")
· 1949, Kwangju, South Korea- ("One More Summer", "The Woman On The Beach")
· 1951, Korea-forced to transfuse blood to a Turkish soldier with an immature
stalk of bamboo. ("All For One")
· 1951 or 1952, New Guinea-Second Lieutenant was staked out and covered with
honey by natives, but later rescued. ("Past Tense")
· 1953, Southeast Asia-with French forces. Later became the chief consultant
to Rand McNally when the map was updated. ("All For One")
· 1953 or 1954-temporarily assigned to MI6 and Scotland Yard in a case
involving a women's rugby team and a pervert who liked sweat socks. ("Mixed
Doubles")
· 1953, Kenya-During the Mau Mau uprising, Higgins' soldiers are ambushed. The
unit follows the Mau Mau trail and a skirmish breaks out. Higgins is slashed
in the thigh. The regiment (Private Clutterbuck, Private Buckmeister, Private
Taylor, and Lance Corporal Crawford) goes ahead of him and destroys the village
of Bereebee. Higgins reports the massacre and turns himself and everyone else
in for court-martial. Higgins is absolved. The regiment is reassigned, but
not punished. ("Black on White") Higgins also refers to a Lieutenant Smythe
being in Korea at the same time. ("Echoes Of The Mind")
· Spring 1954, Kenya-guarded the Andrews' farm from the Mau Mau. Had a
relationship with one of the daughters on the farm. He is later blackmailed by
a soldier who was in Kenya at the same time. ("Luther Gillis File #001")
· 1956, Suez-participates in a camel patrol led by Captain Thornbury against
the Egyptians. ("Under World")
· 1957, Geneva-ran the Arlington Arms Hotel, "a quiet hotel, not ostentatious,
but catered to the most discriminating clientele in Europe-earls, dukes, the
occasional viscount." ("Past Tense")
· 1961, Congo-with the UN peacekeeping force. Tyler Peabody McKinney was on
the other side. ("All For One")
· Northern Ireland-With MI6, attached to General Cornwald. He investigated a
case where a private killed a corporal because he was told all corporals are
homosexuals and they straighten when they become sergents. ("The Jororo Kill")
*NOTE: I tried to be as accurate as possible regarding the order of the events
and the details. I'm sure there are probably some mistakes, so forgive me.
Special Note:
Albert Stanley Higgins, Duke of Perth
Children (legitimate): older son (unnamed), Earl of Perth
Jonathan Quail Higgins, Baron of Perth
No legitimate sisters
(illegitimate): Elmo Ziller
Father Paddy
Don Luis Mongueo
Tzu Ling
Elizabeth Whitefeather
Katuma Numba
Summer 1919-attached to the British delegation at the Treaty of Versailles.
While stricken with influenza, he sleeps with a Red Cross nurse from Texas. He
and Higgins were born about the same time.
Just after World War I, as a major in the Prince of Wales own Lighthorse
Regiment. While delivering milk to an orphanage, he and his troops were
ambushed. The troops escaped, and Albert was found by a widow woman. It was a
cold winter and peat for the fire was scarce. They did the only thing they
could to keep warm.
1921, Costa Del Rosa-rescues King Mongueo's daughter from a bloody coup. Don
Luis is born later.
1928, China-military attaché to the embassy in Peking. While escorting nuns to
establish a mission, he was ambushed by Mongolian bandits led by a raven-haired
woman who offered to let them go in exchange for a special favor from Albert.
This created Tzu Ling.
ThomasH
>
> A few years ago, I was able to watch "Magnum, PI" twice daily. Once on a local
> station in Atlanta and once on WOR. Having no idea that such things were
> available on the internet, I used the opportunity to write an episode guide and
> biography of Higgins. The order of the information is my own idea. There
> could be different interpretations of the same information.
>
> Here is the biography I compiled (with episode titles by the entry). Enjoy.
>
> Sincerely,
>
> Gary Holmes
>
> Sergeant Major Jonathan Quail Higgins, V.C., British Army (retired)
>
> Title: Baron of Perth
> Born: 1920 to Albert Stanley Higgins and Mrs. Higgins
> History:3 wars, 5 insurrections, and 37 years in Her Majesty's Service
Congratulations to this excellent contribution.
Jonathan Quail Higgins was by big favorite character in the show.
I never saw all the episodes, so my "collection" of his doings has
several big holes in it. As it seems from your list, the writers
of the series have maintained a great deal of consistency in Higgin's
unbelievable series of adventures and heroic acts.
Thomas.
--
Thomas Herter tel: +1 (408) 428-7377 NO SPAM!
fax: +1 (408) 428-7460
Holmesdmd
>of the series have maintained a great deal of consistency in Higgin's
>unbelievable series of adventures and heroic acts.
I was impressed by the writer's consistency. I thought for sure that if I
collected all of the stories, I would find a glaring error because he mentions
experiences in both theaters of the war. Then in "The Eight Part of the
Village" Higgins mentions being transferred from North Africa to New Guinea in
the summer of '42.
Glad you enjoyed it.
Gary
Beverly Kai
For you ladiess who admire Higgins's style, the Sierra Trading Post
catalogue
features deeply discounted Ghurka-style shorts for women.
the waistband has that unique adjustment. Perhaps the website has it
too.
www.sierratraadingpost.com
This catalog specializes in major outdoor brands' clouseouts and
seconds. Ex-officio, North Face, etc.
I like their things because the quality is the best, the money is small,
and the styling is classic - - as with Ghurka shorts.
I circled the world last summer in an Ex-Officio travel skirt wit so
many hidden pockets that I was literally prooff against pickpockets.
And I looked terrific.
Actually, I stopped using fanny packs when Iowa tourists (And George
Constanza) began to use them. As Seinfeld said, on a portly figure,
they look like colostomy bags . . . . ..
The Ghurka shorts would no doubt be constructed so that the wearer
would look as fit and trim as Higgin's did, despite his ample,
middle-aged silouette.
BTW, finally saw Chinatown. Hillerman: the man of a thousand accents,
and ten-thousand fleeting facial expressions.
For those of you dying in the heat wave, it has only gone up to about 84
for the past few weeks, with nice, brisk trade winds to keep the
outdoors cool.
The problem with living in a modern building is that it traps the heat.
I once lived on a third floor, where the vinegar in my cupboard was warm
to the touch in September. Fortunately, I had windows in front and
back, and blew all the hot air out after dark.
I live in a similar unit now, and got an A/C just to keep the afternoon
heat from collecting in the cement walls, and then radiating all nght I
keep my unit below 80, and still open everything up and turn on the fans
after dark.
I sympathise with you in the heat wave. Even Singapore doesn't have
humidity like the American Midwest and East have, and the South is
unbearable.
There is enough humidity here in Honolulu to make my hair curl fetchigly
around my face. But sweat never runs down my legs like it did in San
Antonio.
In Sept and Oct I will take two quick showers per day just to feel
comfy.
The best time to visit here is spring and early summer. Feb and March ,
you risk overcast and rain for two weeks at a time.
Ghurka shorts are appropriate.
ms. brookes
found on earth. they [and i] have a 'higgins shirt'.
Beverly Kai
In a previous post I referrd to catalogue shorts as Ghurka shorts.
They are actually listed as Kashmir shorts - -but whatever they are
called, they are what Higgie Baby wore with his khaki shirt and knee sox
( did he wear knee sox?)