William Ward-Higgs (3 January 186621 June 1936) was an English lawyer and songwriter who wrote " Sussex by the Sea": The unofficial anthem of that county, a regimental march of the

Royal Sussex Regiment The Royal Sussex Regiment was a line infantry regiment of the British Army that was in existence from 1881 to 1966. The regiment was formed in 1881 as part of the Childers Reforms by the amalgamation of the 35th (Royal Sussex) Regiment of Foot a ...

, and the official song of Brighton & Hove Albion F.C. He was born on 3January 1866 at Whitmore, Talbot Road, in

Southport Southport is a seaside town in the Metropolitan Borough of Sefton in Merseyside, England. At the 2001 census, it had a population of 90,336, making it the eleventh most populous settlement in North West England. Southport lies on the Iris ...

. For much of his life, he worked in London as a solicitor. From , he lived at Hollywood House in

Bersted Bersted is a civil parish in the Arun district of West Sussex, England. It is made up of two somewhat independent villages, North Bersted and Shripney which contribute to some common amenities. Governance An electoral ward in the same name exi ...

West Sussex West Sussex is a county in South East England on the English Channel coast. The ceremonial county comprises the shire districts of Adur, Arun, Chichester, Horsham, and Mid Sussex, and the boroughs of Crawley and Worthing. Covering an ...

. He wrote "Sussex by the Sea" when his favourite sister-in-law became engaged to Captain Waithman of the 2nd Battalion, Royal Sussex Regiment. He may have been inspired by

Rudyard Kipling Joseph Rudyard Kipling ( ; 30 December 1865 – 18 January 1936)''The Times'', (London) 18 January 1936, p. 12. was an English novelist, short-story writer, poet, and journalist. He was born in British India, which inspired much of his work. ...

's poem ''Sussex'', which ends with the line "Yea, Sussex by the sea!"he had previously set to music several of Kipling's

Barrack-Room Ballads The Barrack-Room Ballads are a series of songs and poems by Rudyard Kipling, dealing with the late-Victorian British Army and mostly written in a vernacular dialect. The series contains some of Kipling's best-known works, including the poems " Gu ...

. The song was published in 1907. Subsequently, he moved back to London. He had epilepsy in his later years, and killed himself on at his home in

Roehampton Roehampton is an area in southwest London, in the Putney SW15 postal district, and takes up a far western strip running north to south of the London Borough of Wandsworth. It contains a number of large council house estates and is home to the U ...

. He is buried in Bersted churchyard.

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1866 births 1936 deaths 1936 suicides English solicitors English songwriters History of football in England Musicians from Southport People from Bersted People with epilepsy Suicides in England {{Songwriter-stub