Family’s tribute to Piper Bill
THE family of the heroic bagpiper who played for Allied soldiers at the D-Day landings 80 years ago are today launching a 10-day salute to his bravery.
Defying a hail of enemy fire, kilted William Millin strode along Sword Beach encouraging his commando comrades in the fight to free Europe.
His inspirational act on June 6, 1944, led to the 21-year-old entering military folklore as Piper Bill, or The Mad Piper.
Ahead of the anniversary of the Second World War invasion, his son John and grandson Jacob Millin will play the bagpipes in their gardens daily from 8am in honour of Bill and his colleagues.
Retired mental health nurse John, 69, said: “Lord Lovat’s speech to his commandos a few hours before boarding the landing craft taking them to Normandy ended with him telling them that ‘100 years from now’ their children’s children will look back and say they must have been giants.
“This is my way of saying thank you to the giant that was my dad, and all the many other thousands who gave their all.” John will play the pipes at his home in Rampton, Notts, before Jacob, 41, does the same in Sheringham, Norfolk. They will perform Road to the Isles and Highland Laddie, tunes that Bill played amid the D-Day carnage.
Armada
Jacob said: “I am a father of a one-month-old baby girl and a fouryear-old son. Barnaby is already aware of who his great-grandfather was and has taken books to school to show to his classmates.”
Canadian-born Bill was the only bagpiper in the Allied armada known as Operation Overlord. Lord Lovat, who led the Special Service Brigade at Sword Beach, later captured key target Pegasus Bridge, accompanied by Bill.
Veterans said as he waded ashore, the CO shouted, “Give us Highland Laddie, man!” – a favourite march of his former regiment the Scots Guards.
Bill later recalled: “I started the pipes up, and marched up and down.” He died in Torbay in 2010 aged 88 and his pipes are held at Dawlish Museum in Devon.
D-Day veteran Tom Duncan said later: “I shall never forget hearing the skirl of Bill Millin’s pipes. It gave us a great lift.”