Son of D-Day’s ‘mad piper’ honours his memory with 10-day salute
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The son of Bill Millin, the “mad piper” who played to Allied troops as they stormed the beaches of Normandy on D-Day, has commemorated his father’s heroism with a 10-day bagpipe salute in his memory.
Bill Millin was unarmed save for a sgian-dubh, a ceremonial dagger, in his stocking when he struck up with Hieland Laddie to fortify his fellow soldiers as they braved German fire on Sword Beach in 1944.
German snipers captured by the British later admitted they refused to shoot at the kilt-wearing Scotsman, believing he had gone mad in the heat of battle.
He survived the war and went on to retrain as a mental health nurse until his retirement in 1998.
Millin died in 2010 aged 88, survived by his son John Millin.
Ahead of the 80th anniversary of the D-Day landings, Mr Millin, 69, has honoured his father’s bravery by publicly piping Hieland Laddie and Road to the Isles every morning for 10 days in his home village of Rampton, Nottinghamshire.
His final performance will be on Thursday and will be continued by his son Jacob Millin, 41, in Sheringham, Norfolk, for the subsequent 10 days.
Their commemoration forms part of the Pipers 80-Day Countdown, a series of bagpipe performances across the UK until June 6 organised by Bruno Peek, the former Royal Pageant Master.
Mr Millin, a former forensic psychiatrist with 30 years experience in the NHS, said: “My only reason for playing would be in dad’s memory.
“I am very proud of my father’s place in history. He played the pipes in remembrance of those who died in Normandy
“I do not do weddings or funerals, it is just for the remembrance of my father.”
Mr Millin added that he only started learning to play the bagpipes following his father’s death as he was put off by the level of publicity his father had attracted after the war.
His father had served as the personal piper to Simon Fraser, the 15th Lord Lovat, and had initially protested when ordered to play, citing wartime rules, which banned pipers from playing on the front line.
Fraser is said to have replied “Ah, but that’s the English War Office. You and I are both Scottish, and that doesn’t apply.”
After Hieland Laddie, Fraser, the commander of 1st Special Service Brigade, raised his voice above the crackle of gunfire and the crump of mortar, and asked for another. Millin strode up and down the water’s edge playing The Road to the Isles.
Veterans who served alongside Millin said he had provided a unique boost to morale
Tom Duncan said: “It is hard to describe the impact it had. It gave us a great lift and increased our determination.
“As well as the pride we felt, it reminded us of home and why we were there fighting for our lives and those of our loved ones.”
