In the 1950s, he was Daddy, the quiet father who worked hard to provide for his family. At home in Peterborough, Ontario, he somehow found time to fix up our old two-storey clapboard house and tend a big vegetable garden for our family.
Continue readingCategory Archives: RCMP File
“Seasonable Greetings!”
Moving. Gripping. Inspiring. These are just some of the descriptors I’ve heard from strangers who’ve read “Fighting for Democracy.” Friends have jumped in, too; some of whom wouldn’t normally read a book like this.
Continue readingWhy Would a Canadian Spanish Civil War Veteran Bike From The West Coast to New York in 1940?
I’m thrilled to have a feature article, A Mac-Pap Amongst the Lincolns, published in The Volunteer, the magazine of the Abraham Lincoln Brigade in New York, Click on it, and learn why Jim Higgins ended up seeking refuge there during the winter of 1940/41.
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“Fighting for Democracy: The True Story of Jim Higgins (1907-1982), A Canadian Activist in Spain’s Civil War” TBP August 2020
Jim Higgins defied Canadian law to fight for democracy in the Spanish Civil War. On return, he was branded a communist, hounded by the RCMP, and welcomed by Lincoln Battalion comrades when he sought refuge in New York.
Continue reading“I was riveted. There are few workers’ memoirs as excellent…engaging, informative, and very well written.” James L. Turk, Centre for Free Expression, Ryerson University and Author, Free Speech in Fearful Times
“The fact that (Jim) was involved in secret ops makes this book particularly memorable…a key read for historians looking for new details of the Battle of the Ebro.” Jason Webster, Author, Violencia: A New History of Spain
Hounded by the RCMP
I received Jim Higgins’s RCMP file in Spring 2019 under a Freedom of Information request. Not only did the Royal Canadian Mounted Police file document many of his activities during the Great Depression, and after, it also held an intriguing glimpse into his romantic life, a couple of years before he met his wife, Reta Palliser.
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