Bill Millin Lord Lovat's Piper on D-Day Passed Away 18th August 2010
Bill Millin was the Piper Who Led Lord Lovat's Commandos Across Pegasus Bridge in Normandy
Few people would know Bill Millin by name, but anyone who has seen the 1962 movie The Longest Day, which is a documentary of the D-Day landings in Normandy on 6th June 1944, will remember the British Commandos under Lord Lovat coming ashore on Sword Beach, led by Lovat and his piper.
Although in the movie the role of the piper was played by Pipe-Major Leslie de Laspee, who was the official piper to the Queen Mother in 1961, on the 6th June 1944 that person was actually Bill Millin.
From marching along the edge of the beach under fire, his pipes playing to inspire his comrades on to take the beach, to playing as they marched inland and again playing as they marched over Pegasus Bridge, a key objective to prevent German reinforcements from getting close to the beaches, Bill was an inspiration to his comrades.
Bill lived at a nursing home in Dawlish, on the South Coast of Devon, where he had lived for the last 7 years, after suffering a major stroke.
According to an official statement, Bill passed away peacefully in a Torbay hospital after a short illness.
Details of his passing can be found on this BBC News article, but if you are interested in Bill's memoirs from D-Day itself, I highly recommend reading the following article from Pegasus Archive. This is a wonderful account of the journey across the English Channel from the Hamble River in Hampshire, to Sword Beach.
So what you may ask is my interest in the late Bill Millin?
For those of you who have followed my recent series of slide shows from a walk that we took along the Hamble River just a few weeks ago, THIS ARTICLE has photographs taken of memorial plaques outside the Rising Sun Pub at Warsash, which is where Lord Lovat, Bill Millin, and hundreds of other British Commandos left for the Normandy Beaches.
So "Goodnight Bill", another brave soldier gone, one of the ever decreasing survivors of the many thousands of troops who took part in the largest seaborne invasion that the world has ever seen.
Sources:
Published by Tony Payne
Tony Payne is a freelance writer who lives on the South Coast of England with his wife Debbie. He has worked in the IT Industry all his life, and has been writing on various sites for the last 10 years. T... View profile
- Choosing a News Source for Your Web SiteFox News is one of the hottest properties on the Internet despite being criticised by detractors as being not as "fair and balanced" as they like to claim.
Offbeat NewsOffbeat news where truth is often stranger than fiction. Read about the giant penis statue that must be removed before the Pope's visit, the rabid bat that was brought to schoo...- Weird Stories that Actually Made the NewsA look at real news stories that are weird and unusual.
- Working the BBC IPlayerA guide to using the BBC iPlayer.
- Hot News Quickies - Friday, July 17, 2009News happens while you sleep - get your Hot News Quickies here!
- D-Day Veterans Who Landed on Normandy Remember Two Things: The Command "Away All B...
- WWII D-Day Invasion of Normandy Begins on Omaha Beach and Utah Beach
- For Memorial Day: Normandy France, A Visit and a Tribute
- Remembering D-Day: Part 1 - The Allies Plan and Prepare for Invasion
- WW II: Allies Turn the Tables Lesson Plan
- BBC News
- American News Vs. The BBC
9 Comments
Post a CommentSad news - God bless him!
Page love. : )
nice tribute
good tribute, I didn't know this actor.
A beautiful article. if I don;t get to your article, it's because i'm not getting emails for some reason, will eventually get around to them.
Our prayers are with the family, cheers
May he rest in peace.
This was an interesting piece. Thanks for the historical info Tony.
Thanks for this interesting article. :-)