236153 Pte. David Higham British Army 8th (Service) Btn. King's Shropshire Light Infantry from:Blackburn, Lancashire David Higham was my grandfather. He left work in the cotton mill in Blackburn at the age of 19 and enlisted in 1915. He was small at enlistment. He was only 5 Ft 1 and a half inches tall, which would have prevented his earlier enlistment until there was a relaxation of the minimum height requirements. He enlisted in the South Wales Borderers before joining his intended unit the King's Shropshire Light Infantry. My grandmother came from Shropshire so that may have encouraged that. He served in Salonika with the allied expeditionary force there and, after seeing active service, suffered a common fate there as he was invalided back to Malta with illness. He spent some time in Malta recovering (he had fond memories of his time there) before being discharged on 20th of Novemeber as no longer fit for war service.
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