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Terrence Lionel Seymour Higgins (10 June 1945 – 4 July 1982) was among the first people known to die of an AIDS-related illness in the United Kingdom.[2]
Terry Higgins | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | Terrence Lionel Seymour Higgins[1] 10 June 1945 Pembrokeshire, Wales |
| Died | 4 July 1982 (aged 37) London, England |
| Known for | First British person known to die of AIDS |
| Partner | Rupert Whitaker (1981–1982) |
Early life (1945–1963)
editTerrence Lionel Seymour Higgins was born in Pembrokeshire, Wales on 10 June 1945. His mother, Majorie, was a nurse, and the oldest of nine children; she died in 1974.[3] His father was not listed on his birth certificate, and has never been identified.[4] He lived with his mother, at 13 Priory Avenue and attended the local all-boys grammar school for five years until 1960.[3]
He was described by his friends as having a "dancer's walk". Angela Preston, one of Terry's classmates in Wales, recalled "he would say to me and my friend 'come on girls, up you get', and he'd jive with two of us at the same time".[4]
Higgins left Haverfordwest as a teenager due to feeling alienated because of his sexuality.[2] He lived in London, including the areas Notting Hill, Streatham, and West Kensington, where he shared a flat with a friend.[3]
Time in the navy (1963–1968)
editAt the age of eighteen, Higgins enlisted in the Royal Navy, in 1963. He spent five years in the service, until being kicked out in 1968.[5][6]
Terry faced hostility due to his sexuality.[7] Higgins recalled that he told an officer he was a homosexual, to which the officer replied "if we booted out everyone who was gay we wouldn’t have a navy left".[3] In 1968,[5][6] he was declined honourable discharge, so he painted a hammer and sickle around his ship, which led to him being forced out.[3]
Adult life (1968–1981)
editTerry worked as a Hansard reporter in the House of Commons during the day and as a nightclub barman and disc jockey in the evenings.
Higgins was arrested in 1980 during a pride event. He attacked police officers when he spotted them assaulting his friend. Julian, who knew Terry and witnessed the event, said "the last quarter of the march sat down... (he) refused to move... and several more arrests took place. Terry, "dressed head to toes in leather", leaped from the Heaven float, leather belt in hand, attacking the police with it screaming “how dare you bitches attack my friends”.[3][8]
Hobbies
editHe was said to be a music enthusiast, and travelled to New York and Amsterdam as a DJ in the 1970s, to buy many records there.[3] He was into the leather scene, and was known by friends as "Fat Terry".[3] Higgins self–taught himself the piano, and learned how to speak French, German, and Spanish. Higgins was also into astrology, and in 1974, he wrote a book called The Living Zodiac.[3][8]
Illness and death (1981–1982)
editIn the summer of 1981, Higgins grew increasingly conscious of his weight, even though he weighed 13 stone, which was almost a normal weight for a man of his height.[3] Terry therefore started a diet, which at first seemed successful, although he would develop a rash during the process.[3] Once Terry stopped his diet, he noticed that he was still losing weight concerningly fast, and the rashes were not going away.[3] When going to the doctors, they brushed it off, but when Higgins grew weaker and weaker, they also grew concerned.[3]
In April 1982, Higgins collapsed at the Heaven nightclub and was admitted to St Thomas' Hospital. He was discharged after a few days when doctors were unable to treat his condition.[3]
Higgins collapsed at Heaven a second time while at work and was admitted to St Thomas' Hospital, London again, where he died of Pneumocystis pneumonia and progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy on 4 July 1982. His partner, Rupert Whitaker, who was eighteen when they started going out, witnessed his final moments and spoke at his funeral.[9]
His death was originally listed as "pneumonia".[7]
Legacy
editAlthough Higgins was not the first person in the UK to die from AIDS-related illnesses (that being John Eaddie nine months before on 29 October 1981[10][11]), it was the death of Higgins that brought the disease fully into public view.[7]
Martyn Butler,[12] Rupert Whitaker and Tony Calvert initiated the formation of the Terry Higgins Trust.[13] in 1982 with a group of concerned community-members and Terry's friends, including Len Robinson and Chris Peel;[14] it is dedicated to preventing the spread of HIV, promoting awareness of AIDS, and providing supportive services to people with the disease.
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ "Terrence Higgins: A name that gave hope to those with HIV and AIDS". BBC News. 4 July 2022.
- ^ a b "Terrence Higgins' legacy, 30 years after death". Neil Prior, BBC News Wales, 5 July 2012. Retrieved 23 February 2015.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n "Terry Higgins – the man | Terrence Higgins Trust". www.tht.org.uk. Retrieved 19 October 2024.
- ^ a b "Terrence Higgins: A name that gave hope to those with HIV and Aids". BBC News. 3 July 2022. Retrieved 19 October 2024.
- ^ a b "Terrence Higgins Memorial Quilt Unveiled at National Museum of the Royal Navy, two years after ban on HIV personnel serving in Royal Navy was lifted". Scene Magazine - From the heart of LGBTQ Life. 4 October 2024. Retrieved 19 October 2024.
- ^ a b Koch, Sarah (9 October 2024). "Terrence Higgins Memorial Quilt Unveiled at National Museum of the Royal Navy, two years after ban". The News. Retrieved 19 October 2024.
- ^ a b c "Terrence Higgins". London Remembers. Retrieved 19 October 2024.
- ^ a b "Terry Higgins memorial quilt". Google Arts & Culture. Retrieved 19 October 2024.
- ^ Hattenstone, Simon (23 June 2022). "'He taught me about love, affection and great sex': the untold story of Terrence Higgins". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 19 October 2024.
- ^ Welford, Joanne (10 November 2021). "40 year mystery of Saltburn man who was Britain's first Aids victim". Teesside Live. Retrieved 19 October 2024.
- ^ King, Jordan (10 November 2021). "First Briton to die from Aids is revealed after 40 years". Metro. Retrieved 19 October 2024.
- ^ Prior, Neil (5 July 2012). "Higgins' legacy, 30 years later". BBC News.
- ^ Howarth, Glennys & Oliver Leaman. (2013). Encyclopedia of Death and Dying. Abingdon: Routledge. p. 5. ISBN 978-1-136-91360-0.
- ^ "How it all began | Terrence Higgins Trust". www.tht.org.uk.
Bibliography
edit- "Terrence Higgins" in Robert Aldrich & Garry Wotherspoon. (Eds.) Who's Who in Contemporary Gay and Lesbian History: From World War II to the Present Day, Volume 2. London: Routledge, 2001, pp. 187–188. ISBN 041522974X