Australians in the Battle of Britain. 12 October 1940. Bill Millington

Australians in the Battle of Britain. 12 October 1940

Bill Millington—back in Hurricane V6692—and 249 Squadron carried out only one patrol on 12 October 1940. They encountered a Messerschmitt 109 formation and Sergeant Beard claimed on damaged. Bill did not add to his score. But perhaps that did not matter for Bill. After all, he was flying.

Bill had long wanted to take to the air—it was a childhood dream and he regularly insisted to his parents that he would take up flying as a career. He particularly wanted to join the air force.

After completing primary school he enrolled at Adelaide Technical High School because he thought the technical focus would provide skills he’d need when he learned to fly. With his eye firmly on a career in aviation, he took a job with Gilbert Engineering as he believed this sort of work would stand him in good stead when he eventually applied for one of the flying services. As he was earning a wage, Bill asked his father if he could learn to fly but William Millington would not give his underage son permission.

When he wasn’t dreaming of flying, Bill channelled his energies into the scouting movement, joining up at a young age. He graduated from cub to scout and then rover, and won many achievement badges. He was connected with the Forestville and Torrensville rover crews and joined the Boy Scouts’ Association’s soccer league. His best friends were his fellow scouts and rovers. Together, they enjoyed camping, bushwalking, rabbit shooting and messing about on boats.

 

 

(Bill Millington (second from left) and his Rover friends at Kuitpo, South Australia, in the Easter 1938 hike and camp. Sadly, Bill did not identify his friends but if anyone can identify them I would be grateful.) 

Bill’s personal creed was based on the strong moral principles enshrined in scout law and he strove to be trustworthy; loyal to King, Empire and Country; helpful, friendly, cheerful, considerate, thrifty, courageous and respectful. Almost everything he did exemplified scout law in some way, in particular his community spirit. In January 1939, when bushfires raged around Adelaide, he braved record-breaking temperatures and joined his rover crew to fight the fires. They were among the worst in South Australia’s history, sweeping through hundreds of square miles of countryside, causing tens of thousands of pounds worth of damage. Within a week, the danger passed and the fundraising began. Bill attended a rover crew dance, where nine pounds were raised; went to a bushfire relief concert; and headed to a charity midget car meeting.

When not with his rover crew, he watched aviation films, including Test Pilot which was ‘rather disappointing’ and Dawn Patrol, which he considered a ‘very good show’. He would take his camera out to the aerodromes at Parafield and Ceduna and his photo album sported snaps such as VH-USY ‘Bungara’, Australian National Airway’s Douglas DC-2 that carried the Royal Mail, and a pair of RAAF Hawker Demons.

 

(RAAF Hawker Demons at Ceduna, 1938)

In his early training days, Bill continued to take photos of RAF aircraft but there was little time during the Battle of Britain to take photos of aeroplanes; his photo albums contain no shots of Hurricanes from 79 and 249 Squadron. And indeed, why would Bill need a drool over a snap of V6692, for instance, when he could fly her almost every day as he helped defend the land of his birth.