Tag Archives: the tall soldier

The raised fist salute of the Republicans countered the flat-palmed salute of Franco's fascists.

“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.

“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

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Tantalizing Threads to Pursue

Time for an editing update. Since I joined the social media crowd in August, some intriguing information has come to light about my father’s time in the Spanish Civil War. As I tease things out, with help from people I’ve met online, it seems that Jim Higgins was no ordinary soldier.

At first, when I heard him comment on one of his audiotapes, that he “wasn’t the average guy”, or that he “knew things others didn’t”, I pushed it aside. I knew deep down these weren’t idle comments, but I didn’t have any evidence of what he meant. If anything, he underplayed his role in his memoir, so no help there.

Now, it turns out, his cryptic comments mean something. 

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Editing Jim Higgins’ 1930s Memoir

There will be those who question how I went about editing a memoir written by someone long dead. Did I put words in his mouth? Did I change his voice? How did I deal with the inevitable, questions, puzzles and mistakes.

Jim Higgins’ at Stoney Lake, 1981. A lot had happened in a few years; he’d drafted his memoir, been found by Manuel Alvarez, and “The Tall Soldier”, had been published. He died in 1982. His memoir lay fallow 40 years, until his daughter, Janette, began the editing process.
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Jim Higgins’ 1930s story makes international news in 1978, again in 1980, and now in 2018

It happened, first, in January, 2018. I was at a dinner party in San Miguel de Allende. The host had steered the conversation towards my plans to publish my father’s 1930s memoir.

I was telling the other guests a bit about him, when a fellow Canadian asked, “What was your father’s name?”  I said, “Jim Higgins”. He replied, “I’m pretty sure I just heard about him on the news.”  I said, “Impossible!”, and promptly forgot about it.

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