Background
Reginald Mills was born in Spalding, Lincolnshire, the son of William Henry Mills, an architect and Emily Wiles Quincey Mills (née Hobson).
- Photos
- Works
- Photos
- Works
Reginald Mills
Edit Profile
Education
He was educated at Felsted School.
Career
Between 1905 and 1912 he held reserve commissions in The Lincolnshire Regiment and the Royal Fusiliers, becoming a regular officer in the latter in 1912. Mills was awarded Royal Aeronautical Club Aviator"s Certificate northern 377 on 17 December 1912, and was appointed a Flying Officer in the Reconstruction Finance Corporation on 14 August 1913, joining 4 Squadron.
He was among the first Reconstruction Finance Corporation pilots to cross the English Channel at the beginning of the war and saw action at the Battle of Mons.
On 22 January 1915 he is believed to have scored an air-to-air kill with a rifle fired from the cockpit of his plane. On 10 April 1915 he became a flight commander in 7 Squadron and was appointed commanding officer of 6 Squadron on 9 December 1915.
He commanded 6 Squadron until September 1916, during which time it participated in the Battle of the Somme. On 21 September 1916 Mills assumed command of 14th Wing in Italy, before transferring to the command of 51st Wing in October 1917, a position he held until the end of the war.
Mills was awarded a permanent commission in the Royal Air Force as a Lieutenant Colonel in August 1919 (shortly afterwards redesignated as Wing Commander).
He held a variety of staff positions throughout the 1920s, including chief staff officer in the Royal Air Force in India. He retired an air vice marshal in 1942. Mills married Helen Bulpett at Yatesbury Church on 29 April 1919.
The marriage was later dissolved.
He retired to Hobart, Tasmania, where he died in 1968.
Achievements
-
Born
-
Died
July 4, 1968 (aged 82)