210933 2nd Lt. William Henry Mill British Army 1/5th Battalion Royal Scots Fusiliers from:21, Drummond Place, Edinburgh (d.12th July 1915) William, or Willie as he was known to his family, was the only son of William Henry Mill, an Edinburgh lawyer, and his wife, Caroline, and was brother to four sisters, Caroline, Helen, Jane and Ruth. He was educated at Edinburgh Academy, and on leaving school enlisted with the Royal Scots Fusiliers, gaining his comission in 1914. He sailed from Liverpool on the S.S Mauretania with his Battalion and the 1/4th on May 1915, arriving at the huge harbour of Mudros on Lemnos, before sailing on to Gallipoli, landing there on June 7th. His battalion took part in the Battles of Gully Ravine and Achi Baba Nullah. Hand-written notes in his pocket Bible, recovered from his body, show him at rest camp on June 19th, in support trenches on June 25th, 27th, 29th and 30th, and in the support trenches at 'Clapham Junction' on July 3rd. His last entries show him in a rest camp on July 7th and 8th. Under-lined passages from the Bible clearly show that he took support from the book and was determined to do the right thing. He was killed in action on July 12th, in the Battle of Achi Baba Nullah, aged 19. His body was recovered and lies in a marked grave not far from where he fell, in Redoubt Cemetery. His parents visited the grave shortly after the war but as far as I know it was not re-visited until his sister Jane, my Grandmother, travelled there around 1965. I have his pocket Bible and one of his lapel badges, recovered from his body, and his medals.
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