Bertram Wagstaff Mills (August 1873 – 16 April 1938) was a British

circus A circus is a company of performers who put on diverse entertainment shows that may include clowns, acrobats, trained animals, trapeze acts, musicians, dancers, hoopers, tightrope walkers, jugglers, magicians, ventriloquists, and uni ...

owner originally from

Paddington Paddington is an area within the City of Westminster, in Central London. First a medieval parish then a metropolitan borough, it was integrated with Westminster and Greater London in 1965. Three important landmarks of the district are Padd ...

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

, who ran the Bertram Mills Circus. His circus became famous in the UK for its

Christmas Christmas is an annual festival commemorating the birth of Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a religious and cultural celebration among billions of people around the world. A feast central to the Christian liturgical year ...

shows at

Olympia The name Olympia may refer to: Arts and entertainment Film * ''Olympia'' (1938 film), by Leni Riefenstahl, documenting the Berlin-hosted Olympic Games * ''Olympia'' (1998 film), about a Mexican soap opera star who pursues a career as an athlet ...

in West London televised in 1938, 1946 and 1947. His troupe was the last to perform with live animals on the

Drury Lane Theatre The Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, commonly known as Drury Lane, is a West End theatre and Grade I listed building in Covent Garden, London, England. The building faces Catherine Street (earlier named Bridges or Brydges Street) and backs onto Dru ...

stage.

Early life

Born in August 1873, Bertram was the son of Halford Mills of

, London, an

undertaker A funeral director, also known as an undertaker (British English) or mortician (American English), is a professional involved in the business of funeral rites. These tasks often entail the embalming and burial or cremation of the dead, as ...

and the owner of the Reformed Funeral Company, a coach-building works, and the ''Undertakers Journal''. Halford Mills was described as a "pioneer of

embalming Embalming is the art and science of preserving human remains by treating them (in its modern form with chemicals) to forestall decomposition. This is usually done to make the deceased suitable for public or private viewing as part of the funeral ...

". Bertram was brought up on two small farms at

Chalfont St. Giles Chalfont St Giles is a village and civil parish in southeast Buckinghamshire, England. It is in a group of villages called The Chalfonts, which also includes Chalfont St Peter and Little Chalfont. It lies on the edge of the Chiltern Hills, wes ...

(which his father owned for the purpose of sending his horses there to rest), where he developed his passion for

horseback riding Equestrianism (from Latin , , , 'horseman', 'horse'), commonly known as horse riding (Commonwealth English) or horseback riding (American English), includes the disciplines of riding, Driving (horse), driving, and Equestrian vaulting, vaulting ...

. He left school aged 15 and started washing down the coaches for the family business, which was started by his grandfather (who used to be an

evangelical Evangelicalism (), also called evangelical Christianity or evangelical Protestantism, is a worldwide interdenominational movement within Protestant Christianity that affirms the centrality of being " born again", in which an individual exp ...

preacher). Within a year, he was driving a

four-in-hand The four-in-hand knot is a method of tying a necktie. It is also known as a simple knot or schoolboy knot, due to its simplicity and style. Some reports state that carriage drivers tied their reins with a four-in-hand knot, while others claim th ...

from London to

Oxford Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the Un ...

wearing a

cornflower ''Centaurea cyanus'', commonly known as cornflower or bachelor's button, is an annual flowering plant in the family Asteraceae native to Europe. In the past, it often grew as a weed in cornfields (in the broad sense of "corn", referring to gra ...

in his morning coat, for which he later became recognised.

Career

He continued working for the family firm until the outbreak of

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 ...

, when he joined and served with the

Royal Army Medical Corps The Royal Army Medical Corps (RAMC) is a specialist corps in the British Army which provides medical services to all Army personnel and their families, in war and in peace. The RAMC, the Royal Army Veterinary Corps, the Royal Army Dental Corps ...

, rising to the rank of captain. On leaving the army, he became interested in the "Wilkins and Young Circus". He made a wager with a friend that he could form a circus company and within a year be as good as they were. He did just that, thus the "Bertram Mills International Circus" was formed. The circus very quickly became a household name, and the annual Christmas event became especially well-known. He made a point of inviting orphans to see the shows free. By 1930 (its heyday would last for the next 30 years, when it was the best and most famous live show), he had inaugurated a touring circus, which became unique amongst British circuses, always appearing at

for the Christmas season.

VistaScreen The VistaScreen Co Ltd was a stereographic photography outfit launched in the late 1950s by Jack & Jeff Spring, who, at the time, owned a paper merchanting company called Capital Paper Company, and Stanley Long, a former RAF photographer. Long sh ...

released three different series of stereoviews featuring the circus. The guest lists indicate the show's renown; the

royal family A royal family is the immediate family of kings/queens, emirs/emiras, sultans/ sultanas, or raja/ rani and sometimes their extended family. The term imperial family appropriately describes the family of an emperor or empress, and the term p ...

, who were great supporters, attended every year, and Winston Churchill and similar dignitaries were also annual guests.

Personal life and family

Bertram Mills married his wife, Ethel (d. 1960), in 1901. They were parents of a daughter and two sons, Bernard Notley and Cyril Bertram Mills. After their father's death on 16 April 1938 aged 64, both Bernard and Cyril took over running the Bertram Mills Circus, sustaining its success until the early 1960s, when it was finally disbanded due to widespread television viewing. Cyril Mills served with

MI5 The Security Service, also known as MI5 ( Military Intelligence, Section 5), is the United Kingdom's domestic counter-intelligence and security agency and is part of its intelligence machinery alongside the Secret Intelligence Service (MI6), Go ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

and was the spymaster who controlled Juan Pujol Garcia,

codename A code name, call sign or cryptonym is a code word or name used, sometimes clandestinely, to refer to another name, word, project, or person. Code names are often used for military purposes, or in espionage. They may also be used in industrial c ...

d "Garbo". Bertram Mills was

cremated Cremation is a method of final disposition of a dead body through burning. Cremation may serve as a funeral or post-funeral rite and as an alternative to burial. In some countries, including India and Nepal, cremation on an open-air pyre i ...

(his father had been one of the first three undertakers to offer this service in London) and is buried with his wife at

Chalfont St Giles Chalfont St Giles is a village and civil parish in southeast Buckinghamshire, England. It is in a group of villages called The Chalfonts, which also includes Chalfont St Peter and Little Chalfont. It lies on the edge of the Chiltern Hills, w ...

Buckinghamshire Buckinghamshire (), abbreviated Bucks, is a ceremonial county in South East England that borders Greater London to the south-east, Berkshire to the south, Oxfordshire to the west, Northamptonshire to the north, Bedfordshire to the north-eas ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...

References

External links

Full Biography of Bertram Mills
* * ttps://web.archive.org/web/20081024210500/http://www.peopleplayuk.org.uk/guided_tours/circus_tour/the_modern_circus/default.php The Great International Circus at Olympiaarchived), ''PeoplePlay UK''
Halford Mills in the Encyclopedia of CremationHalford Mills & The History of Smarden
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mills, Bertram 1873 births 1938 deaths Circus owners Members of London County Council Municipal Reform Party politicians British Army personnel of World War I Royal Army Medical Corps officers