Albert Mills

Born into a Christian family in 1912, in a village near Coventry, he had a sister and two brothers. At school he showed a keen interest in sports, especially athletics. He trained as a teacher for 5 to 14 year olds, and taught for 9 years before joining the armed services. He met Marjorie, a London secretary, travelling on his motorbike to meet up with her. They married in 1937 and their daughter Anne was born in 1938. By now the family lived in a north London suburb. After war broke out he joined the RAF, (Royal Air Force) and trained to become aircrew, as a navigator. Returning from a sortie in August 1942 the Wellington plane they were flying came down near the small town of Monster, on the Dutch coast. One member of the crew survived and was taken prisoner. The other four died, and are buried next to each other in the Commonwealth War Graves section of the cemetery at Westduin-Ockenburg. Albert’s grave is Row 2, grave 31. They were reported missing in August, but official confirmation was only received by his parents and wife via the Red Cross towards the end of that year. One brother, also in the RAF died on a mission 2 years later, but has no known grave. It is assumed their plane ditched in the North Sea. Citizens of The Hague ‘adopted’ graves, and a lasting friendship grew up between the Dutch family and Albert’s wife and daughter. His wife Marjorie died in 2012, aged 100. His daughter grew up to believe that it was important to promote reconciliation in Europe, studied languages and worked in France and Germany. She is now retired, but keeps in touch with her three children, in-laws and four grandchildren. Sluiten