Joseph Higginson

Joseph Higginson (11 October 1792 – 18 September 1881) was a British Royal Marine and veteran of the Napoleonic Wars. He served as a sergeant aboard HMS President during the Invasion of Java (1811), when British forces captured the Dutch East Indies from Franco–Dutch control. For his service he later received the Naval General Service Medal (1847) with the "Java" clasp.^[2][3]

After leaving the service following an injury, Higginson returned to his native Tyldesley in Lancashire, where he worked as a cotton weaver in a cotton mill before marrying his cousin, Martha Dickenson, in 1830. Living to the age of 88, he was one of the last surviving veterans of the Java campaign and was commemorated in local newspapers upon his death.^[4]

Joseph Higginson was born on 11 October 1792 to James (1766–1844) and Mary (née Johnson, 1768–1834) in Well Street, Tyldesley, Lancashire. He was baptised on 24 October the same year at St Mary the Virgin's Church, Leigh, in the Kingdom of Great Britain.^[5] The 1881 census lists him as Joseph Wright Higginson, possibly due to a clerical error rather than a true middle name.^[6] His father was a cotton weaver in Tyldesley, then a growing Lancashire mill town that supplied many recruits to the Royal Marines during the Napoleonic Wars.^[7]

At the age of 18 in 1810, Higginson enlisted in Manchester as a private in the Royal Marines, having been persuaded to join by a recruitment agent.^[8] He was later promoted to sergeant.

In 1811 he embarked aboard HMS President, which was part of the fleet sent to support the British invasion of Java. The campaign aimed to seize the Dutch East Indies, then under the Kingdom of Holland allied to Napoleon Bonaparte.^[9]

The Anglo–Indian force captured Batavia (now Jakarta) in August 1811 and defeated Franco–Dutch troops at the Battle of Fort Cornelis, securing the island.^[10] Muster rolls for HMS President confirm the ship’s presence in the Java operations during this period.^[11] The victory removed the last major French foothold in the East Indies and secured British trade routes to India and China.

According to his obituary, Higginson was wounded during the campaign. The report incorrectly gave the date as “August 1826”, almost certainly a misprint for 1816.^[4][a]

Higginson returned home because of his injuries before completing the required 18 years’ service and therefore did not qualify for a pension. In 1847 the Admiralty authorised the retrospective award of the Naval General Service Medal to surviving veterans of actions between 1793 and 1840. The award was not automatic; veterans had to apply for it more than three decades after the events.^[12]

He received his medal in 1848 with the "Java" clasp.^[13] His name is also listed in the alphabetical roll of recipients compiled by John Hayward and Colin Message, which records surviving holders of the medal.^[14]

Specialist research has highlighted the rarity of this clasp—only 665 were issued—and its importance for collectors.^[15][16]

Joseph Higginson was not a recipient of the Java Medal (awarded in 1812), as he was not a soldier in an army of the East India Company.

After returning to Tyldesley, Higginson worked as a cotton weaver. On 19 December 1830 he married his cousin, Martha Dickenson (1783–1869), at St Mary the Virgin's Church, Leigh.^[17] The couple had no children and lived on Well Street. Census returns consistently recorded him in Tyldesley and listed his occupation as a cotton weaver.

The Bolton Evening News reported that Higginson regretted not returning to fight after recovering from his wounds and that he was remembered for hoisting the Union Jack in commemoration of his service.^[4]

After his wife’s death in 1869 following a 14-day illness of bronchitis,^[18] he lived with his cousin Joseph Higginson, his wife, Margaret, and their eight children at 5 Patchett Street in Tyldesley, where he remained until his death.^[4] In 1873 he became almost blind, and in 1877 he was photographed with his relative Martha Higginson (daughter of his cousin Joseph, later Martha Fountain).

By 1881 his health was declining rapidly. Beginning in January, Higginson was confined to bed for a 35-week illness, suffering from mortification of both legs. On 18 September 1881, aged 88, Higginson died at his home at 5 Patchett Street, just three weeks from his 89th birthday.^[19][b] His death was registered on 19 September and the cause of death was recorded as senile debility.

He was buried at St George's Church, Tyldesley, on 21 September, alongside his wife. The cemetery lies about 100 m from his last address, and his tombstone (if constructed) does not survive. His obituary appeared in both the Bolton Evening News and the Leigh Journal.^[20]

The Bolton Evening News described Higginson as one of the last surviving veterans of the Java campaign.^[4] His medal, obituary, and photographs survive and have been uploaded to Wikimedia Commons.

Due to the rarity of the "Java" clasp—with only 665 awarded and approximately 278 known to survive^[21]—his surviving medal and portrait photographs are of interest to naval and local historians.^[22][23]

His name also appears in later compilations of medal recipients, including the Greenwich Medal Roll published by the Guild of One-Name Studies, which documents surviving holders of the Naval General Service Medal.^[24]

• Invasion of Java (1811)
• List of last surviving veterans of military insurgencies and wars
• Royal Marines
• Naval General Service Medal (1847)
• List of clasps to the Naval General Service Medal (1847)

• Carey, Peter; McKinnon, John (2015). The Invasion of Java 1811. Jakarta: Lontar Foundation.
• Clowes, William Laird (1900). The Royal Navy: A History from the Earliest Times to 1900. Vol. V. London: Sampson Low, Marston and Co.
• Farrer, William; Brownbill, J. (1911). The Victoria History of the County of Lancaster, Volume V. London: Victoria County History.
• Douglas-Morris, Kenneth (1982). Naval General Service Medal Roll, 1793–1840. London: Spink & Son. p. 231.

• The National Archives, ADM 157: Royal Marines attestation papers
• The National Archives, ADM 171: Naval General Service Medal rolls
• Lancashire Online Parish Clerk Project
• Joseph Higginson at Find a Grave