Bill Millin
Encyclopedia
William "Bill" Millin commonly known as Piper Bill, was personal piper to Simon Fraser, 15th Lord Lovat
, commander of 1 Special Service Brigade at D-Day
.
Millin is best remembered for playing the pipes whilst under fire during the D-Day landing in Normandy
. Pipers had traditionally been used in battle by Scottish and Irish soldiers however the use of bagpipes
was restricted to rear areas by the time of the Second World War by the British Army. Lovat, however, ignored these orders and ordered Millin, aged 21, to play. When Private Millin demurred, citing the regulations, he recalled later, Lord Lovat replied: “Ah, but that’s the English War Office. You and I are both Scottish, and that doesn’t apply.” He played "Hielan' Laddie" and "The Road to the Isles
" as his comrades fell around him on Sword Beach
. Millin states that he later talked to captured German snipers who claimed they did not shoot him because they thought he was crazy.
Millin, whom Lovat had appointed his personal piper during commando training at Achnacarry, near Fort William in Scotland, was the only man during the landing who wore a kilt – it was the same Cameron tartan kilt his dad had worn in Flanders during the Great War – and he was armed only with his pipes and the Sgian Dubh, or "black knife", sheathed inside his kilt-hose on the right side.
Millin, who suffered a stroke in 2003, died in hospital in Torbay. His wife Margaret (née Dowdel, from Edinburgh) died in 2000. He is survived by their son John.
Millin spent his post-war career as a Psychiatric nurse
at Dawlish. He died on 17 August 2010, aged 88 in Devon, England.
. Millin was portrayed by Pipe Major
Leslie de Laspee, the official piper to the Queen Mother
in 1961.
One set of Millin's bagpipes are exhibited at the Memorial Museum of Pegasus Bridge in Ranville, France.
French fundraisers have been trying to raise £80,000 to erect a statue of Piper Millin at Colleville-Montgomery, a town on Sword Beach, but have been disappointed by only six of the eighty seven donations having come from the UK.
Another set of his bagpipes are now displayed at Dawlish museum. Millin presented his pipes to Dawlish Museum prior to the 60th anniversary of the D-Day Landings in 2004, along with his kilt
, beret
and dirk
. These items are still on display at the museum library with photographic archives and looped video telling of Millin’s exploits.
Simon Fraser, 15th Lord Lovat
Brigadier Simon Christopher Joseph Fraser, 15th Lord Lovat and 4th Baron Lovat DSO, MC, TD was the 25th Chief of the Clan Fraser and a prominent British Commando during the Second World War...
, commander of 1 Special Service Brigade at D-Day
D-Day
D-Day is a term often used in military parlance to denote the day on which a combat attack or operation is to be initiated. "D-Day" often represents a variable, designating the day upon which some significant event will occur or has occurred; see Military designation of days and hours for similar...
.
Early life
Born in Regina, Canada on 14 July 1922 to a father of Scottish origin who returned to Glasgow as a policeman when William was three.He grew up and went to school in the Shettleston area of the city. He joined the Territorial Army in Fort William, where his family had moved, and played in the pipe bands of the Highland Light Infantry and the Queen's Own Cameron Highlanders before volunteering as a commando and training with Lovat at Achnacarry along with French, Dutch, Belgian, Polish, Norwegian, Polish and Czechoslovakian troops.World War II
Normandy
Normandy is a geographical region corresponding to the former Duchy of Normandy. It is in France.The continental territory covers 30,627 km² and forms the preponderant part of Normandy and roughly 5% of the territory of France. It is divided for administrative purposes into two régions:...
. Pipers had traditionally been used in battle by Scottish and Irish soldiers however the use of bagpipes
Bagpipes
Bagpipes are a class of musical instrument, aerophones, using enclosed reeds fed from a constant reservoir of air in the form of a bag. Though the Scottish Great Highland Bagpipe and Irish uilleann pipes have the greatest international visibility, bagpipes of many different types come from...
was restricted to rear areas by the time of the Second World War by the British Army. Lovat, however, ignored these orders and ordered Millin, aged 21, to play. When Private Millin demurred, citing the regulations, he recalled later, Lord Lovat replied: “Ah, but that’s the English War Office. You and I are both Scottish, and that doesn’t apply.” He played "Hielan' Laddie" and "The Road to the Isles
The Road to the Isles
"The Road to the Isles" is a famous Scottish traditional song. It is part of the Kennedy-Fraser collection and it appeared in a book entitled 'Songs of the Hebrides' published in 1917, with the eponymous title by the Celtic poet Kenneth Macleod. The poem is headed by the statement 'Written for the...
" as his comrades fell around him on Sword Beach
Sword Beach
Sword, commonly known as Sword Beach, was the code name given to one of the five main landing areas along the Normandy coast during the initial assault phase, Operation Neptune, of Operation Overlord; the Allied invasion of German-occupied France that commenced on 6 June 1944...
. Millin states that he later talked to captured German snipers who claimed they did not shoot him because they thought he was crazy.
Millin, whom Lovat had appointed his personal piper during commando training at Achnacarry, near Fort William in Scotland, was the only man during the landing who wore a kilt – it was the same Cameron tartan kilt his dad had worn in Flanders during the Great War – and he was armed only with his pipes and the Sgian Dubh, or "black knife", sheathed inside his kilt-hose on the right side.
Later life
Millin saw further action with 1 SSB in the Netherlands and Germany before being demobbed in 1946 and going to work on Lord Lovat's highland estate. In the 1950s he became a registered mental nurse in Glasgow, moving south to a hospital in Devon in the late '60s until he retired in the Devon town of Dawlish in 1988. He made regular trips back to Normandy for commemoration ceremonies. France awarded him its Croix d'Honneur for gallantry. In 2006, a Devon folk singer, Sheelagh Allen, wrote a song about him, "The Highland Piper".Millin, who suffered a stroke in 2003, died in hospital in Torbay. His wife Margaret (née Dowdel, from Edinburgh) died in 2000. He is survived by their son John.
Millin spent his post-war career as a Psychiatric nurse
Psychiatric and mental health nursing
Psychiatric nursing or mental health nursing is the specialty of nursing that cares for people of all ages with mental illness or mental distress, such as schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, psychosis, depression or dementia...
at Dawlish. He died on 17 August 2010, aged 88 in Devon, England.
Popular culture and legacy
Millin's action on D-Day was portrayed in the 1962 film The Longest DayThe Longest Day (film)
The Longest Day is a 1962 war film based on the 1959 history book The Longest Day by Cornelius Ryan, about "D-Day", the Normandy landings on 6 June 1944, during World War II....
. Millin was portrayed by Pipe Major
Pipe Major
The Pipe Major is the director of bagpipe music in a Scottish or Irish pipe band. Like Drum Major, the position of Pipe Major is derived from British Army traditions. During the early twentieth century, the term Sergeant Piper was used for the role in place of "Pipe Major".Civillian and military...
Leslie de Laspee, the official piper to the Queen Mother
Queen mother
Queen Mother is a title or position reserved for a widowed queen consort whose son or daughter from that marriage is the reigning monarch. The term has been used in English since at least 1577...
in 1961.
One set of Millin's bagpipes are exhibited at the Memorial Museum of Pegasus Bridge in Ranville, France.
French fundraisers have been trying to raise £80,000 to erect a statue of Piper Millin at Colleville-Montgomery, a town on Sword Beach, but have been disappointed by only six of the eighty seven donations having come from the UK.
Another set of his bagpipes are now displayed at Dawlish museum. Millin presented his pipes to Dawlish Museum prior to the 60th anniversary of the D-Day Landings in 2004, along with his kilt
Kilt
The kilt is a knee-length garment with pleats at the rear, originating in the traditional dress of men and boys in the Scottish Highlands of the 16th century. Since the 19th century it has become associated with the wider culture of Scotland in general, or with Celtic heritage even more broadly...
, beret
Beret
A beret is a soft, round, flat-crowned hat, designated a "cap", usually of woven, hand-knitted wool, crocheted cotton, or wool felt, or acrylic fiber....
and dirk
Dirk
A dirk is a short thrusting dagger, sometimes a cut-down sword blade mounted on a dagger hilt rather than a knife blade. It was historically used as a personal weapon for officers engaged in naval hand-to-hand combat during the Age of Sail.-Etymology:...
. These items are still on display at the museum library with photographic archives and looped video telling of Millin’s exploits.