Obituary: Frank W(indsor) Higgins (QM 1939-47)

Passed away 30th September 2020

After leaving School Frank started his National Service in the RAF in March 1947. He was an air radio mechanic, and as a Leading Aircraftman served on Transport Command airfields in the South of England. On demob in June 1949 he found regular work in radio and was a founder member of the Oxford and Cambridge Players. He studied speech training and drama at the Central School of Speech and Drama, then based at the Royal Albert Hall, London. Frank belonged to the world of the London stage, having appeared in such productions as Androcles and the Lion, Brand and Travesties with the Royal Shakespeare Company. However, he is probably best known as Detective Sergeant John Watt, a role which he played in Z-Cars from 1962 to 1965, and thereafter its spin-offs Softly, Softly, Jack The Ripper and Second Verdict .

Frank never liked to be without work and accepted radio and television roles with relish. From 1987 to 1989, he starred in the comedy drama Flying Lady written by Brian Finch. He also starred as a rather old-fashioned headmaster grappling with problems in education in Headmaster, which started as a single play in Play for Today in 1974. It was expanded into a sixpart series in 1977.

He was the subject of This Is Your Life on 3 December 1975 when he was surprised by Eamonn Andrews at the Metropolitan Police Sports Club in East Molesey. A hard-working man, he was well-liked in show business.

Frank enjoyed home life; he made wine and enjoyed keeping his dogs. He was also involved in work for the World Wildlife Fund and the Variety Club of Great Britain.

Frank was married to Mary Corbett, a former dancer, from October 1959 until his death. They had two children. Frank died at his home in London in September 2020, at the age of 92.