William Millin (July 14, 1922 – August 18, 2010),
''Telegraph'' commonly known as Piper Bill, was a Canadian musician who played bagpipes, and was personal piper to

Simon Fraser, 15th Lord Lovat Brigadier Simon Christopher Joseph Fraser, 15th Lord Lovat, 4th Baron Lovat, (9 July 1911 – 16 March 1995) was a prominent British Commando during the Second World War and the 25th Chief of the Clan Fraser of Lovat. Known familiarly as Shim ...

, commander of the British

1 Special Service Brigade The 1st Special Service Brigade was a commando brigade of the British Army. Formed during the Second World War, it consisted of elements of the British Army (including British Commandos) and the Royal Marines. The brigade's component units saw a ...

D-Day The Normandy landings were the landing operations and associated airborne operations on Tuesday, 6 June 1944 of the Allied invasion of Normandy in Operation Overlord during World War II. Codenamed Operation Neptune and often referred to as D ...

Early life

Millin was born in Regina,

Saskatchewan Saskatchewan ( ; ) is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Western Canada, western Canada, bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, to the northeast by Nunavut, and on t ...

, on July 14, 1922, to a father of Scottish origin who moved the family to the

Prairies Prairies are ecosystems considered part of the temperate grasslands, savannas, and shrublands biome by ecologists, based on similar temperate climates, moderate rainfall, and a composition of grasses, herbs, and shrubs, rather than trees, as the ...

, but returned to Glasgow as a policeman when William was three. He grew up and went to school in the

Shettleston Shettleston ( sco, Shuttlestoun, gd, Baile Nighean Sheadna) is a district in the east end of Glasgow in Scotland. Toponymy The origin of the name 'Shettleston' is not clear and, like many place-names of possibly medieval origin, has had a multi ...

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 The Highland Light Infantry (HLI) was a light infantry regiment of the British Army formed in 1881. It took part in the First and Second World Wars, until it was amalgamated with the Royal Scots Fusiliers in 1959 to form the Royal Highland Fusi ...

and the

Queen's Own Cameron Highlanders The Queen's Own Cameron Highlanders or 79th (The Queen's Own Cameron Highlanders) Regiment of Foot was a line infantry regiment of the British Army, raised in 1793. It amalgamated with the Seaforth Highlanders (Ross-shire Buffs, The Duke of Al ...

before volunteering as a commando and training with Lovat at

Achnacarry Achnacarry ( gd, Achadh na Cairidh) is a hamlet, private estate (land), estate, and a castle in the Lochaber region of the Scottish Highlands, Highlands, Scotland. It occupies a strategic position on an isthmus between Loch Lochy to the east, a ...

along with French, Dutch, Belgian, Polish, Norwegian, and Czechoslovak troops.

Second World War

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 Bagpipes are a woodwind instrument using enclosed reeds fed from a constant reservoir of air in the form of a bag. The Great Highland bagpipes are well known, but people have played bagpipes for centuries throughout large parts of Europe, No ...

was restricted to rear areas by the time of the Second World War by the British Army. Lovat, nevertheless, ignored these orders and ordered Millin, then 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." Millin played "

Highland Laddie "Highland Laddie", also known as "Hielan' Laddie", is the name of a Scottish popular folk tune "If Thou'lt Play Me Fair Play", but as with many old melodies various sets of words can be sung to it, of which Robert Burns's poem "Highland Laddie" ...

" "

The Road to the Isles "The Road to the Isles" is a famous tune composed by Pipe Major John McLellan DCM which was originally called ‘The Bens of Jura’, though it previously had other titles. It is part of the Kennedy-Fraser collection and it appeared in a book enti ...

" and "All The Blue Bonnets Are Over The Border" as his comrades fell around him on

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 Fra ...

. Millin states that he later talked to captured German snipers who claimed they did not shoot at him because they thought he had gone mad. Millin, whom Lovat had appointed his personal piper during commando training at

, near Fort William in Scotland, was the only man during the landing who wore a

kilt A kilt ( gd, fèileadh ; Irish: ''féileadh'') is a garment resembling a wrap-around knee-length skirt, made of twill woven worsted wool with heavy pleats at the sides and back and traditionally a tartan pattern. Originating in the Scottish Hi ...

– it was the same Cameron tartan kilt his father had worn in

Flanders Flanders (, ; Dutch: ''Vlaanderen'' ) is the Flemish-speaking northern portion of Belgium and one of the communities, regions and language areas of Belgium. However, there are several overlapping definitions, including ones related to culture, ...

during

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

– and he was armed only with his pipes and the

sgian-dubh The ( ; ) – also anglicized as skene – is a small, single-edged knife ( gd, sgian) worn as part of traditional Scottish Highland dress along with the kilt. Originally used for eating and preparing fruit, meat, and cutting bread and cheese, ...

, or "black knife", sheathed inside his kilt-hose on the right side. Lovat and Millin advanced from Sword to

Pegasus Bridge Pegasus Bridge, originally called the Bénouville Bridge after the neighbouring village, is a road crossing over the Caen Canal, between Caen and Ouistreham in Normandy. The original bridge, built in 1934, is now a war memorial and is the cent ...

, which had been defiantly defended by men of the 2nd Bn the Ox & Bucks Light Infantry (

6th Airborne Division The 6th Airborne Division was an airborne infantry division of the British Army during the Second World War. Despite its name, the 6th was actually the second of two airborne divisions raised by the British Army during the war, the other being t ...

) who had landed in the early hours by glider. Lovat's commandos arrived at a little past one p.m. at Pegasus Bridge although the rendezvous time in the plan was noon. To the sound of Millin's bagpipes, the commandos marched across Pegasus Bridge. During the march, twelve men died, most shot through their berets. Later detachments of the commandos rushed across in small groups with helmets on. Millin's D-Day bagpipes were later donated to Dawlish Museum. A set of pipes he used later in the campaign, after the originals became damaged, were donated to the now "Pegasus Bridge Museum".

Later life

Piper Bill Millin's D-Day Bagpipes, Dawlish Museum

Millin saw further action with 1 SSB in the Netherlands and Germany before being demobilised in 1946 and going to work on Lord Lovat's highland estate. In the 1950s he became a registered

psychiatric nurse Psychiatric nursing or mental health nursing is the appointed position of a nurse that specialises in mental health, and cares for people of all ages experiencing mental illnesses or distress. These include: neurodevelopmental disorders, schizoph ...

in Glasgow, moving south to a hospital in Devon in the late '60s until he retired in the Devon town of

Dawlish Dawlish is an English seaside resort town and civil parish in Teignbridge on the south coast of Devon, from the county town of Exeter and from the larger resort of Torquay. Its 2011 population of 11,312 was estimated at 13,355 in 2019. It is t ...

in 1988. He made regular trips back to Normandy for commemoration ceremonies. France awarded him a

Légion d’honneur The National Order of the Legion of Honour (french: Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur), formerly the Royal Order of the Legion of Honour ('), is the highest French order of merit, both military and civil. Established in 1802 by Napoleon B ...

for gallantry in June 2009. In 2006, a Devon folk singer, Sheelagh Allen, wrote a song about him, "The Highland Piper". Millin played the pipes at Lord Lovat's funeral in 1995. Millin, who suffered a stroke in 2003, died in hospital in Torbay on 17 August 2010, aged 88. His wife Margaret (, from Edinburgh) died in 2000. They were survived by their son John.

Popular culture and legacy

Millin's action on D-Day was portrayed in the 1962 film ''The Longest Day''. Millin was played by

Pipe Major The pipe major is the leading musician of a pipe band, whether military or civilian. Like the appointment of drum major, the position is derived from British Army traditions. During the early twentieth century, the term sergeant piper was used ...

Leslie de Laspee, the official piper to

the Queen Mother ''The'' () is a grammatical Article (grammar), article in English language, English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite ...

in 1961."Dawlish D-Day veteran back in Normandy"
'' The Herald'', 6 June 2009, One set of Millin's bagpipes are exhibited at the Memorial Museum of

Ranville Ranville () is a commune in the Calvados department in the Normandy region in northwestern France. Ranville was the first French village liberated on D-Day. The village was liberated by the British 13th Parachute Battalion, commanded by Lieute ...

, France. 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

bonnet A Bonnet is a variety of headgear, hat or cap Specific types of headgear referred to as "bonnets" may include Scottish * Blue bonnet, a distinctive woollen cap worn by men in Scotland from the 15th-18th centuries And its derivations: **Feath ...

and

dirk A dirk is a long bladed thrusting dagger.Chisholm, Hugh (ed.), ''Dagger'', The Encyclopædia Britannica, 11th ed., Vol. VII, New York, NY: Cambridge University Press (1910), p. 729 Historically, it gained its name from the Highland Dirk (Scot ...

. These items are still shown at the museum library with photographic archives and looped video telling of Millin’s exploits. Dawlish Museum officials have written testimony from Millin that the set on display in Dawlish is the genuine set which he played during the D-Day landings at Sword. The ones on show at the Pegasus Bridge Museum are a second set that were used by him later in the campaign, after the capture of Pegasus Bridge. Pegasus Museum says that it lays no claim to its set being the originals. Andrew Wright, vice chairman of Dawlish Museum, said: With the help of son John Millin and the Dawlish Royal British Legion, a bronze life-size statue of Piper Bill Millin was unveiled on 8 June 2013 at

Colleville-Montgomery Colleville-Montgomery (; formerly ''Colleville-sur-Orne'') is a commune in the Calvados department in the Normandy region in northern France. It was known as Colleville-sur-Orne until 13 June 1946 to distinguish it from another town in the depa ...

, near Sword, in France. On 7 August 2013, BBC's ''

The One Show ''The One Show'' is a British television magazine and chat show programme. Broadcast live on BBC One weeknights at 7:00 pm, it features topical stories and studio guests. It is currently co-hosted by Alex Jones, Jermaine Jenas, and Ronan K ...

'' featured a film about Bill's son John Millin and his playing of the bagpipes in memory of his father at the unveiling of the statue to Piper Bill at Colleville-Montgomery in Normandy. Broadcast live, from Weston-super-Mare, Larry Lamb explained that Bill Millin's pipes and uniform are on display at Dawlish Museum in Devon. The film also showed scenes of more than 500 pipers from 21 countries taking part in the unveiling of the £50,000 statue by French sculptor Gaetan Ader which took more than four years of fund raising by the D-Day Piper Bill Millin Association to complete.Ellen Grindley, ''Dawlish Gazette'' 14 August 2013. Tindle Newspapers Ltd Canadian Celtic-punk band

The Real McKenzies The Real McKenzies is a Canadian Celtic punk band founded in 1992 and based in Vancouver, British Columbia. They are one of the founders of the Celtic punk movement, albeit 10 years after The Pogues. In addition to writing and performing origin ...

recorded a song about Bill Millin ("My Head Is Filled with Music") on their 2012 album ''Westwinds''. British folk band

Police Dog Hogan Police Dog Hogan are a British band whose music combines elements of country, folk and bluegrass. The band have been active since 2008 and released five albums and three EPs. History The band was formed by vocalist James Studholme and fiddle pl ...

refer to him in their song "Fraserburgh Train", from the 2012 album "From the Land of Miracles".

References

External links

Bill Millin talks about the landing on Sword

Iconic piper sees French tribute
BBC News, Accessed 19 November 2009

The tribute to Bill Millin
on the BBC's obituary programme, ''

Last Word ''Last Word'' is an obituary BBC radio series broadcast weekly on Radio 4. Each week the lives of several famous people who have recently died are summarised with narration, and interviews with people who knew them. The programme is normally p ...