Vale Piper Bill Millin
It is with sadness that we hear this today of the passing of Piper Bill Millin who gained fame for his actions on D Day , truly he was one of the legends of that day , here is an excerpt from the Scotland Herald about him .
"Bill Millin, who has died aged 88, was the “mad piper” whose D-Day bravery in dodging bombs and bullets as he led Lord Lovat and his commandos ashore in Normandy was immortalised in bronze, wood, as a film, in song and even on postage stamps.
Born in Sandyhills, Glasgow, he relished the nickname bestowed on him by the enemy. His contempt for German fire as he piped ashore on to the French beachhead impressed everyone – not least his German foes.
German soldiers captured by the Allies spoke of their astonishment as Private Millin marched up and down Sword Beach in Normandy playing his bagpipes.
Millin was among commandos of 1st Special Service Brigade. Under the command of the charismatic Brigadier Lord Lovat, their objective was to link up with the 6th Airborne Division at Pegasus Bridge, with the initial duty of establishing a beachhead for the main invasion force. Millin, an outstanding army musician, had been taken on by Lovat as his personal piper, and when Lovat’s detachment hit Sword Beach at 0840 hours on D-Day, Piper Millin was immediately seen and heard marching up and down the bloody sands.
One contemporary account read: “These men were under heavy fire from German heavy artillery, machine-guns and mortars [and] the sheer bravery to stand up and play the bagpipes while all this was going on was just amazing.” German prisoners confessed that they had not shot him because they genuinely thought he was mad. Private Millin’s valour encouraged the Allies enough so that when the 3rd British Division of 8th Brigade Group stormed Sword, some 28 out of 40 tanks launched from landing craft successfully beached to engage the enemy and clear German defences.
His sang-froid was matched by that of the 15th Lord Lovat. Armed with only a walking stick, the Inverness-shire aristocrat and chief of the Lovat Frasers directed operations. To encourage the troops, he ordered Millin to play.
Millin, just 21 and wearing the kilt his father had worn in Flanders in the First World War, not only obeyed, but decided on generous interpretation of his orders. Hence the memorable marching up and down the beach under fire. In doing so, both Millin and Lovat disregarded an direct order from high command, fearful that pipers (there were also several regimental pipers on duty) would attract sniper fire.
Years later, in 1962, Millin played himself in The Longest Day, the film based on the Normandy landings. He then recalled: “I was the only one with a kilt, and I wasn’t armed. My most traumatic experience was jumping into the cold water.” Lovat was played by the actor Peter Lawford.
His opening tune was the subject of controversy for years afterwards, the favourite being upheld as The Road to the Isles (known to pipers as The Burning Sands of Egypt). But it was Millin in 1962 who quashed the arguments with his clear recollection: “As I hit the water, I began playing Highland Laddie. I remember – for Lord Lovat turned round and gave me a smile. He’d asked me to play Highland Laddie, Blue Bonnets Over the Border and The Road to the Isles, in that order.”
Four days later, Millin, still unscathed, had his pipes put out of action by German shrapnel.
William Millin was raised in Sandyhills before his family moved to Fort William. Always interested in piping and the army, his outstanding piping ability was spotted by Lord Lovat, himself a piping aficionado. Lovat appointed Millin his personal piper, and the pair proved inseparable on all occasions when piping was required.
The duo long remained in contact, and when Lord Lovat died in 1995, it was Millin who made the long journey from his home of 40 years in Dawlish, Devon, to play a lament at the funeral.
In his speech on the beachhead in 1984, President Ronald Reagan made special mention of Millin’s bravery.
The events of June 6, 1944, seared Millin, and for the next six decades until he became too infirm to travel, he made frequent trips back to France, becoming well-known at former battle sites. Last year, a delegation led by the mayor of the Normandy town of Colleville-Montgomery – the settlement nearest Sword – visited him in Dawlish to present him with a wooden maquette of the 10ft bronze statue unveiled in June this year.
His outstanding courage was also portrayed in a set of stamps issued by the Isle of Man on the 60th anniversary of the D-Day landings, while, in 2006, Devon folk singer Shelagh Allen composed the song The Highland Piper in his honour.
There was latterly controversy over which pipes of the several sets owned by Millin were the original Sword pipes. One set forming a centrepiece of a Second World War display in Edinburgh were later removed on the orders of curator Alan Carswell when he was presented with “convincing evidence” that the Sword pipes were on display in the Pegasus Memorial Museum at Ranville, Normandy. Millin’s failing memory provided little help in identification – but his generosity never left him. He presented several precious relics, including the green commando beret he had worn on the day along with his kilt, sporran and dirk, to his local museum in Dawlish.
Millin, whose Edinburgh-born wife, Margaret, predeceased him a decade ago, suffered a major stroke seven years ago. He died in hospital in Torbay.
Born July 14, 1922
Died August 18, 2010."
Truly a brave man , I am sure the hearts of many a scotsman in heaven will be lifted as they hear his approaching pipes . I hope you will all listen to this song and reflect on the life of such a legendary hero .
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SCSB_BiNSZo
Lest we forget
Jenny
