The Honourable ''The Honourable'' (British English) or ''The Honorable'' (American English; see spelling differences) (abbreviation: ''Hon.'', ''Hon'ble'', or variations) is an honorific style that is used as a prefix before the names or titles of certain ...

Charles Thomas Mills (13 March 1887 – 6 October 1915) was

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization i ...

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...

for

Uxbridge Uxbridge () is a suburban town in west London and the administrative headquarters of the London Borough of Hillingdon. Situated west-northwest of Charing Cross, it is one of the major metropolitan centres identified in the London Plan. Uxbrid ...

, elected in January 1910 when he was the youngest MP. He was killed, serving as an officer with the

Scots Guards The Scots Guards (SG) is one of the five Foot Guards regiments of the British Army. Its origins are as the personal bodyguard of King Charles I of England and Scotland. Its lineage can be traced back to 1642, although it was only placed on the ...

on the Western Front.

Biography

Born on 13 March 1887, he was the eldest son of

Charles William Mills, 2nd Baron Hillingdon Charles William Mills, 2nd Baron Hillingdon (26 January 1855 – 6 April 1919) was a British banker and Conservative politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1885 to 1892, speaking once, in 1889. Mills was eldest son of Charles Mills, 1st ...

(1855–1919) who served as

for

Sevenoaks Sevenoaks is a town in Kent with a population of 29,506 situated south-east of London, England. Also classified as a civil parishes in England, civil parish, Sevenoaks is served by a commuter South Eastern Main Line, main line railway into Lon ...

from 1885 to 1892, and his wife Alice Marion Harbord, daughter of

Charles Harbord, 5th Baron Suffield Charles Harbord, 5th Baron Suffield (2 January 1830 – 9 April 1914), was a British peer, courtier and Liberal politician. A close friend of Edward VII, he served as a Lord of the Bedchamber and Lord-in-waiting to the King. He also held politic ...

. He processed at the coronation of Edward VII and Alexandra in 1902 with Lord Suffield who was Master of the Robes. He was educated at

The New Beacon , motto_translation = Give light out of darkness , established = , closed = , type = Preparatory School , religious_affiliation = , president = , head_label = Headmas ...

Eton College Eton College () is a public school in Eton, Berkshire, England. It was founded in 1440 by Henry VI under the name ''Kynge's College of Our Ladye of Eton besyde Windesore'',Nevill, p. 3 ff. intended as a sister institution to King's College, C ...

, and

Magdalen College, Oxford Magdalen College (, ) is a constituent college of the University of Oxford. It was founded in 1458 by William of Waynflete. Today, it is the fourth wealthiest college, with a financial endowment of £332.1 million as of 2019 and one of the s ...

He joined the family bank Glyn, Mills, Currie & Co. in 1910. He and his father were meant to be on the maiden voyage of the ''

Titanic RMS ''Titanic'' was a British passenger liner, operated by the White Star Line, which sank in the North Atlantic Ocean on 15 April 1912 after striking an iceberg during her maiden voyage from Southampton, England, to New York City, United ...

'' but stayed home due to his father's ill health. Mills was elected Conservative Member of Parliament for the Uxbridge Division of Middlesex at the January 1910 general election and re-elected in the December 1910 election. In his first parliament, he was the '

Baby of the House Baby of the House is the unofficial title given to the youngest member of a parliamentary house. The term is most often applied to members of the British parliament from which the term originated. The title is named after the Father of the House ...

', the youngest MP. He was first commissioned as an army officer in April 1908 in the West Kent (Queen's Own) Yeomanry and promoted

lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations. The meaning of lieutenant differs in different militaries (see comparative military ranks), but it is often sub ...

in 1912. He transferred from the

Territorial Force The Territorial Force was a part-time volunteer component of the British Army, created in 1908 to augment British land forces without resorting to conscription. The new organisation consolidated the 19th-century Volunteer Force and yeomanry i ...

to the

in May 1915. He was killed in action on 6 October 1915 at

Hulluch Hulluch () is a commune in the Pas-de-Calais department in the Hauts-de-France region of France. Geography An ex-coalmining town, now a farming commune, situated some north of Lens, at the junction of the D947 and the D39 roads. History The ...

during the

Battle of Loos The Battle of Loos took place from 1915 in France on the Western Front, during the First World War. It was the biggest British attack of 1915, the first time that the British used poison gas and the first mass engagement of New Army units. Th ...

while a lieutenant with 2nd Battalion, the Scots Guards. He was unmarried. As he has no known grave, Mills is commemorated on the Loos Memorial. He is also commemorated on Panel 8 of the

Parliamentary War Memorial The Parliamentary War Memorial, also known as the Recording Angel Memorial, is a stone sculpture in Westminster Hall, unveiled in 1922, which commemorates the members of both Houses of Parliament of the United Kingdom who died in the First Wor ...

Westminster Hall The Palace of Westminster serves as the meeting place for both the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons and the House of Lords, the two houses of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Informally known as the Houses of Parli ...

, one of 22 MPs who died fighting in the

First World War 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 by a plaque in Hillingdon's parish church. Mills is one of 19 MPs who fell in the war commemorated by heraldic shields in the Commons Chamber. A fifth commemoration is the production in 1932 of a manuscript-style

illuminated Illuminated may refer to: * "Illuminated" (song), by Hurts * Illuminated Film Company, a British animation house * ''Illuminated'', alternative title of Black Sheep (Nat & Alex Wolff album) * Illuminated manuscript See also * Illuminate (disambi ...

book of remembrance for the House of Commons, which includes a short biographical account of his life and death. The inscription on the memorial erected to his memory by his family in St John the Baptist's Church,

Hillingdon Hillingdon is an area of Uxbridge within the London Borough of Hillingdon, centred 14.2 miles (22.8 km) west of Charing Cross. It was an ancient parish in Middlesex that included the market town of Uxbridge. During the 1920s the civil pari ...

contains two quotes: "He greeted the unseen with a cheer." (recalling a line from

Robert Browning Robert Browning (7 May 1812 – 12 December 1889) was an English poet and playwright whose dramatic monologues put him high among the Victorian poets. He was noted for irony, characterization, dark humour, social commentary, historical settings ...

's poem ''Epilogue''); and "So he passed over and the trumpets sounded for him on the other side." (from ''

The Pilgrim's Progress ''The Pilgrim's Progress from This World, to That Which Is to Come'' is a 1678 Christian allegory written by John Bunyan. It is regarded as one of the most significant works of theological fiction in English literature and a progenitor of ...

'' by John Bunyan). His brother Arthur Mills succeeded him, unopposed, as Member of Parliament for Uxbridge.

Arms

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Mills, Charles Thomas 1887 births 1915 deaths British Army personnel of World War I British military personnel killed in World War I Conservative Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies Heirs apparent who never acceded Eldest sons of British hereditary barons Queen's Own West Kent Yeomanry officers Scots Guards officers UK MPs 1910 UK MPs 1910–1918