LIFE OF WILLIAM MILLS THE 'BOMB MAN'
WilliamMills was born in 1856 at Southwick, county Durham, into a family of what was then four children. His parents were David and Sarah Mills, both of whom were born in Monkwearmouth, Sunderland, in 1822. Southwick was one of the two Townships of Monkwearmouth on the northern bank of the River Wear, near Sunderland; it was an expanding industrial area with ship-building, glass-making and potteries. David Mills was described on the 1861 census as a 'ship’s joiner’ and the family home was at Wear Street, Southwick. In all William had five siblings…
Ann/Annie B born c1846
Sarah J born c1852
John George born c1854
George born c1860
Florence born c1866
In 1871 the family were still at Southwick but were now at 22,
Camden Street, where some of the family were still to be found in
1881. David Mills had risen in fortune because the 1881 census
described him as a ‘retired ship owner’ and the family now employed
a domestic servant. David had owned and built wooden ships. William
was not living with the family in 1881; all his siblings were still
at home and unmarried. John was a commercial clerk, George a
joiner, Ann and Sarah were drapers and Florence was a pupil
teacher.
In 1891 David and Sarah Mills were described as ‘visitors’
at the home of David’s son-in-law, Friend Shield, who had married
Sarah Mills. Friend was a farmer at Bowburn Farm, Cassop Cum
Quarrington, Quarrington Hill. This was a coal-mining area about
six miles south-east of Durham. William was also there as a
‘visitor’ with an occupation described as ‘engineer, manufacturer
of boat gear and ship fittings’.
William ‘s earlier career was summarised in one of his later
obituaries…
“After a private education in his native town he obtained a
first class certificate as a marine engineer and went to sea. His
varied experience included the arduous work of salvaging ships and
the laying and repairing of submarine telegraph cables. Once he ran
a blockade and witnessed in Peru and in Chile the spiking of the
old-fashioned guns. His experience at sea resulted in his designing
and patenting the Mills Patent Instantaneous Engaging and
Disengaging Boat Gear, which in 1891, in competition with 15 other
gears, carried off the ‘Fairplay’ prize of 100 guineas, the one and
only prize of the kind offered at the Royal Naval Exhibition”
(Birmingham Mail January 8 1932)
The Royal Naval Exhibition had been opened on May 2 1891 by the
Prince of Wales in the grounds of the Royal Hospital, Chelsea. It
was a major show which also featured a full-sized model of HMS
Victory and the Franklin Gallery. Over 73,000 visitors attended its
wide range of attractions. In his early life William had voyaged
all over the world. His experience probably gave him the idea for
his ‘gear’, his first patent. This also won the highest award from
Mercantile Marine Service Association, the gold medal of the
Liverpool International Exhibition and the highest award medals of
the Newcastle International Exhibition and the World Fair at
Chicago in 1893. It is likely that it was first exhibited at the
Liverpool Shipowners’ Exhibition in 1886. The gearing was approved
by the Board of Trade and it came into worldwide use on naval and
merchant vessels.
William had left school at fourteen and had gone on to a seven year
apprenticeship with Messrs George Clark, marine engineers of
Sunderland. In 1884 he was awarded a first class certificate as a
marine engineer. For a short unspecified time he was a draughtsman
with the Central Marine Engine Works at West Hartlepool and
assistant outdoor manager with Messrs J.Dickinson of Sunderland. A
1919 article cites how the boat gear was a life saver. The Chief
Officer of the SS Drumberlie of Liverpool praised it after
lifeboats were released quickly after the ship hit rocks in a storm
and sank in ten minutes.
After the success of the boat gear William Mills turned his attention to the use of aluminium for mechanical purposes. It was well known as a lightweight metal but there was serious prejudice based on its reliability. Mills used exhaustive workshop and laboratory tests, including into alloys, and produced aluminium castings in 1894 which stood all the tests applied. It is not clear where he set up the country’s first aluminium foundry, probably Sunderland. William Mills, engineer, of Bonner’s Field, Monkwearmouth, was listed in the commercial section of Kelly’s Durham directory of 1897.The Birmingham works, the Atlas Aluminium Foundry, in Grove Street, Smethwick can first be identified in the 1908 Birmingham telephone directory. Wohler had extracted the metal from clay in 1827 and in 1856 the metal cost £3 an ounce. When Mills died in 1932 one could see at his Birmingham factory “hundreds of tons, chiefly in the shape of motor car crank and gear cases, cylinders for aircraft and all kinds of engineering requirements” (Birmingham Post January 8 1932).
It is not clear where William Mills was living on a permanent basis
in the 1890s and the 1901 census does not help either. In that year
he was a visitor at the Roker Hotel in Roker Terrace, Sunderland
and was described as a ‘mechanic engineer’. It is possible that
this was a business trip to his Sunderland works from a West
Midlands home. He could hardly stay with his parents who had gone
to live at 3, Worcester Terrace, Sunderland with William’s sister,
Ann, and her husband, John Gamon, a Kent born art master. Later
Sunderland directories would describe him as an aluminium founder
and finisher at the same location. Even in the Sunderland area he
appears to have regularly switched his home according to evidence
of trade directories. In 1897 he was at 17, St George’s Square,
Bishopwearmouth. In 1902 he was at Mayfield, Roker Park Road,
Roker, a street for the well-off very close to the sea front. In
1910 he was at Northwood in Whitburn Road, Roker, and a similar
area. The 1911 census shows that he was still at Northwood with his
family although the address is now given as Cliff Park. In 1914 he
is no longer listed as having a Sunderland residence.
In Durham in November 1891 William had married Eliza H Gandy, the
widow of John Robert Gandy of Warrington. She was the daughter of
W.Vincent Hodgson, a Manchester cotton spinner. John Gandy
had died in late 1887 in the Ormskirk area at the age of 34. Eliza
had married him in Ormskirk in 1882. One intriguing clue
suggests some kind of Sutton Coldfield connection in 1901. In the
census that year Eliza Mills, aged 43, was living at Claremont on
the Lichfield Road there. No head of the household was cited
suggesting that William was elsewhere. The household fits as there
was a 21 year servant born in Sunderland and Eliza was described as
born in Manchester. Intriguingly two children from Eliza’s first
marriage were also there and had adopted the Mills surname – John
H.G. born 1885 and Amelia G, born 1886. Both children were born in
the USA as British subjects. On the 1911 census William and Eliza
were living at Northwood; William was described as a managing
director’. Also there was his step-daughter, Amelia Gwendolyn,
whose
place of birth was now given as Cincinatti, Ohio. There were also
two domestic servants, aged 16 and 18.
In 1912 we can definitely locate William in the Birmingham area for
the first time as Kelly’s Directory of Warwickshire shows him at
Danesbury in Alderbrook Road, Solihull. The same address is also
given on an American patent application dated July 20 of that year.
Alderbrook Road had only been developed in the new century and
provided detached homes for prosperous businessmen like William
Mills. It was also convenient for railway access to central
Birmingham.
At some point William Mills turned his attention to the application
of aluminium to golf clubs. He himself was a keen golfer and had
joined the Wearside Golf Club around the year 1892. One of his
obituaries in 1932 noted that “every golfer has heard of the Mills
putter”. The web site of the British Golf Museum at St Andrews
states that he “produced a whole range of aluminium clubs based on
the long nosed clubs, also patented dual faced clubs, which were
quickly termed ‘Duplex’ “. He also invented a telescopic aluminium
stool. On July 20 1912 Mills applied for an American patent
for “a new, original and ornamental design for the head of a golf
club” granted on April 22 1913.
When Britain went to war in 1914 the demands of static siege warfare in the trenches meant a fresh look at the ‘grenade’, particularly as the German Army had their own in plentiful supply. In early January 1915 William Mills arranged with Major Banks of the War Office to help evaluate a Belgian hand grenade, the Roland. On January 26 Mills attended a trial with Albert Dewandre, a Belgian engineer who was familiar with the Roland grenade. The Belgian armed and threw four Roland grenades which Mills had fabricated for the trial, which went badly. Major Denn, the evaluator, rejected the Roland as unsafe and unreliable. On the following day Mills discussed the rejection with Major Banks. Banks made some vague suggestions about improvements and Mills soon came to believe that an improved Roland would serve the needs of the BEF in France. By the beginning of February William Mills had used his inventive engineering skills to devise a new hand grenade based on the Roland. He was able to turn something impractical into a workable grenade. The new ‘Mills bomb’ was successfully tested at Shoeburyness on February 20 1915.
The Birmingham Mail reported in 1932…
“Only those who remember the primitive bombs used in the early days
of the war can understand the delight with which the Allied troops
hailed the appearance of the Mills grenade. Previously our men in
the front line had been driven to strange shifts to meet the
bombing raids of the enemy. Empty jam tins, even, were brought into
service and proved almost as dangerous and uncertain in the hands
of their users as they were to the Germans. The new missile imbued
the users with confidence and even a knowledge of superiority. It
was pre-eminentlysafe and easy to handle” (Birmingham Mail January
8 1932)
The ‘Mills bomb’ as it became known was an essential ingredient in
arming the infantry for the siege warfare of the trenches. The
British Army went to war in 1914 with a percussion grenade derived
from one used by the Japanese earlier in the century. They had a
sixteen inch wooden handle and to throw them in a confined space
was as likely to injure the thrower as the opponent. In particular,
the backswing could easily connect with the back wall of a trench
and then explode. Throwing by the head reduced distance. Various
types of percussion fuse were used but none were satisfactory. The
consequence was improvisation and the emergence of the jam pot or
jam tin bomb made from discarded items and packed with explosive
and ‘shrapnel’ of all kinds. The bomb was then sealed with a wooden
plug and a fuse inserted. Mills bombs had a cast iron body filled
with explosive. A tube which consisted of a detonator, fuse and
percussion cap ran down the centre of the grenade. An external
lever, attached to a spring, restrained the striker. A pin, in
turn, held the external lever. The user heldthe grenade so as to
depress the lever, withdrew the pin and threw the grenade. With no
pressure on the lever the striker was activated and detonated the
grenade after four seconds. The first Mills was the No.5, the
‘pineapple segments would assist fragmentation’. It was later
adapted to also become a rifle grenade. The shape of the No.5
fitted neatly into the clenched fist. It also had the huge
advantage of being able to be safely transported with the grenade
separate from the time fuse which was armed when required by front
line soldiers.
Although the Mills was the best of the wartime grenades it had
numerous teething troubles. As late as mid-1916 there was still one
accident for every 3000 grenades. Manufacturing faults could cause
premature explosion and some pins slid out. The latter was probably
the cause of the most well-known grenade accident of the war when
Rifleman Billy McFadzean on July 1 1916 flung himself of a box of
grenades which had fallen from a ‘shelf’. As the war developed
platoons contained specialist sections which included bombers. In
1916 an improved No.23 Mark II version of the Mills bomb was
introduced. It had already proved its use where the labyrinthine
nature of trench defences made any advance without the clearing
effect of hand grenades very difficult.
The War Diary of the 1/8th Warwicks described their
attack on the Quadrilateral near Serre on July 1 1916….
“Enemy first line reached and passed very quickly as also was the
second. Only in one or two cases were any enemy seen in the two
lines. Having plenty of casualties from machine-gun fire in enemy
third and fourth line. All the third line men were temporarily held
up by machine-gun fire but took it by rushes. From this point the
fighting was all with bombs along trenches. We reached our
objective probably 35-40 minutes from zero hour and at once
commenced consolidating and cleaning rifles….. By this time the
next battalionwas arriving but had had so many casualties that they
could not go through so helped consolidating. This happened with
all battalions following us. Many times we were bombed from this
position and regained it until bombs ran out. We had to retire to
the third line parapet and hold on with machine gun and rifle fire.
Parties were detailed to collect as many bombs as could be found
(both English and German) and when we had a good store we again
reached our objective. No supply of bombs were coming from rear so
could not hold on and retired again. Enemy machine-guns and snipers
were doing a great amount ofdamage all the while. Enemy artillery
opened but fortunately their range was over, Held on to this
position until relieved by a battalion from rear”.
Although William Mills can only be proved to live in the Birmingham area in 1912 the 1908 Birmingham telephone directory lists William Mills Ltd at the Atlas Aluminium Works in Grove Street on Smethwick 9. This was the first aluminium foundry in the country. A 1912 Birmingham directory describes the works as producing ‘aluminium castings of every description for motor car manufacturers a speciality’. In 1917 this aluminium founders works produced castings of ‘every description for motor cars, aeroplanes and general trades’. In 1919 he chaired the James Watt Memorial Trust on the centenary of the steam pioneer’s death. He was involved with the Council of the Birmingham Chamber of Commerce and various industry bodies. The 1920electoral roll lists William and Eliza Mills as living at 14, Church Road,Edgbaston next to the Deaf and Dumb Institution. In 1925 there was still aWilliam Mills (Sunderland) Ltd at Bonners Field.
After William Mills had developed his grenade in early 1915 he
opened a works to manufacture it in Bridge Street West in
Birmingham which became known as Mills Munitions Limited. With
other firms perhaps 75 million were produced during the war. His
firm was given no preference overothers and probably made nearly
four million of the total.
For his services to the war effort he was rewarded with a
knighthood in June 1922 and received £27750 from the Royal
Commission on Awards to Inventors. He failed in his expensive legal
claim that he was not liable to pay income tax on that sumand often
stated that he had lost money by the grenade. Just before his
death he told an interviewer that he had lost £30000 on it.
He was a collector of pictures, china and antiques and a member of
Moseley Golf Club. His wife Eliza died in May 1930; there had been
no children from the marriage. She had been a member of the
committee of the City of Birmingham orchestra andchairman of the
Ladywood Women Unionists’ Club. William died at Edgefield, Broadoak
Road, Weston-super-Mare, on January 7 1932 where he had gone for
health reasons instead of his usual winter at his Riviera villa. He
still owned the house in Edgbaston. A memorial services was held at
Edgbaston Old Church in Birmingham where Canon Blofeld spoke of his
‘inventive genius’ and he was cremated. He was worth £37829 at his
death which equated to about £1.26 million in 2005 values. In March
2002 his Knight Bachelor’s badge and War Service badge and an
archive of correspondence were sold at auction.
Bibliography
OxfordDictionary of National Biography
Birmingham Gazette January 8 1932
Birmingham Mail May 3 1922
‘The Mills Grenade. The Mysterious Mr Mills’. Whitehall Gazette.
1919
Sunderland Echo March 14 2002
'British Hand Grenades’. David Payne. WFA. 2008
‘A Muse of Fire. British Trench Warfare Munitions, their Invention,
Manufacture and Tactical Employment on the Western Front,
1914-1918’. Anthony Saunders. Phd. Exeter University.
Birmingham Mail January 8 1932 and January 11 1932
KEY TO PICTURES:
Western Mail May 4 1891
Golf head design patented in the USA in April 22 1913
Mills telescopic aluminium stool
A Mills company advertisement
Grenade workers at Frederick Mountford's Minworth factory
Checking the finished product at Bridge Street West c1916
Below Tyne Cot CWGC cemetery at sunset