James Henry Mills

BIRTH & BAPTISM First name(s) James Henry Last name Mills Sex Male Birth year 1892 Birth place Bringalong Father's name Thomas Mother's name Rachel Burton Registration number 20294 State Victoria

Some results from Briagalong Sports in 1911 Handicap Hurdles.-A M'Donald, 16yds 1 J Wilson, 14yds, 2; Jim Mills, 14yds, 3. Bicycle Race.-W Glllio, 400yds, 1; Jack Mills, 230yds, ; G Harvey, 100yds, 3.

WW1 First name(s) James Henry Last name Mills Service number 3583 Rank Private Birth year 1894 Marital status Single Occupation Carpenter Religion Baptist Age at Embarkation 22 Embarkation year 1916 Embarkation date 05 Jan 1916 Embarkation regiment/unit 6th Infantry Brigade Unit information 23rd Infantry Battalion Unit information 2 8th Reinforcements Departure port Melbourne, Victoria Ship name Hmat A19, Afric Enlistment date 06 Aug 1915 Address Briagalong City Gippsland State Victoria Country Australia Next of kin's first name(s) Thomas Next of kin's last name Mills Relationship Father Next of kin address Briagalong Next of kin city Gippsland Next of kin state VICTORIA Next of kin country - Record set Australian Imperial Force Embarkation Roll 1914-1918

Gippslander and Mirboo Times 27 July 1916 Letters from Soldiers We take the following from a letter written home from Private Jim Mills, who is" "somewhere" in France : - As I have been sent to France, there seems but little chance of me getting a photo, of Dave's grave. In all probability I will never see Gallipoli. There are very few of the men left who were in the landing there. I will see if there are any of the 8th Battalion with us, but I have very little time, and cannot go about here as I would like to. When we are not sleeping, we are on some duty or other. After I again go into the front line trenches, I will be sent for a rest some miles behind the firing line. We get 5 or 6 weeks' spell and drill out of reach of the German guns. I had just wrote a few lines of this letter when the Germans shelled our billet, and we had to run like the devil into the trenches for safety. This is the sixth occasion we have had to run during the week I had 14 days in the firing lire. We were then relieved, and were sent to do 14 days in supports and reserve. During this time we are billeted in what remains of the farm houses and barns. Of course, when shells come over we have to clear out into trenches and dugouts till it is over, and then we go back. It is not too pleasant, as we never know when the Germans may send us a shell. They came day and night. The only thing to do is to run for cover as soon as the first shell comes. By good luck none of our lads have as yet been hit, although at least 50 shells have burst about our billet. One burst in a room where 6 or 8 men sleep, but, luckily, they were all out at the time. Our guns are blowing the Huns up a treat. We shell their billets, and have got them on the jump. When we went into action our guns used to give them only 6 or 7 shells daily per gun, but now they give Fritz 50 per day. We are too good for him, and he is getting very uneasy, as he does not know what the "criminals" of Australians will do next. He had an easy time till we came, as there was very little fighting here. The Australians, however, give him very little rest, night or day. The French people say "Australia plenty bombard." Our boys watch for the smoke from the German trench kitchen of a morning, and as soon as they see it they send a big bomb over, and, of course, the Hun's' breakfast is blown up. It makes them wild some.

The Maffra Spectator Mon 14 Aug 1916 Mr Tom Mills of Briagalong, has received word that his son, Jim Mills, has been wounded. A bullet through the left shoulder put him out of action.

Yarragon Times 25 Aug 1916 News has been received that Private James Mills, of Coalville, has been wounded in the shoulder. [Perhaps James spent some time at Coalville with his brother and family for this mistake to be made - or the reporter got confused - or there is another Jim Mills shot through the shoulder that August]

Gippslander and Mirboo Times 3 Jan 1918 These letters are from close to the end of the war and give an idea of what men like Jim dealt with. Jim Mills is mentioned at the end of the first letter. About Our Soldiers We take the following from a letter written by Private G. H. Emmett : — Normanhurst, Sussex. October 20 1917. I am in hospital here at present. I arrived here three days ago. I was wounded on 26th September by shrapnel in both thighs, but they are only flesh wounds, and are doing well. I am stiil in bed, but expect to be up before long. We had a hop over the first morning we went into the line. We left to go up the night before, and just got into position next morning by the time arranged to hop over. Things were pretty hot, but we got on alright, and secured all our objectives. I got knocked about 10 o'clock in the morning, but did not get out till the next night. They could not get the men or the stretchers, and the men were lying about in dozens, but it was impossible to get them out. My wounds were not very bad after I had them bandaged, but some of the poor beggars suffered terrible agony. I was lying in a shell hole when I got hit. We had just got our last objective, and I was running along when Fritz started sniping at me, and I dropped into a shell hole. About a couple of minutes after one of our own shells burst over my head. Pretty hard luck getting hit with one of our shells, but somehow I had it in my head before I went into the line that I was going to get a nice Blighty out of this lot. I had a rough passage out. I was carried on a stretcher for about a mile and a half over shelled ground, and Fritz was dropping them pretty thick at the time, and the stretcher bearers made the pace pretty hot. I was jolly glad when I got out. I was operated on that night, and it was the funniest experience ever I had in my life coming out of it. When I came out of it I was in a big room, and there were about fifty other patients who had just been operated on too. They were all yelling and talking all the rot you could think of. Next day I was shifted on to the hospital, and I was there for a fortnight before I came over here. It was an American hospital, and I was treated tip top. The sisters were very nice. I am in a bonza place here too, and am looking forward to getting my furlough. You get fourteen days out of hospital now. I met Jim Mills the first night I lobbed in hospital in France. He was in the opposite bed to me. I hardly recognised him for awhile. He had a terrible growth of whiskers up. He went to Blighty the next night. Private F. E. Emmett writes : — Military Hospital, Lancashire, October 28 1917. Just a line or two to let you know that I am still alive and doing fairly well. I suppose you will just about have got word by now that I have been wounded and am back in Blighty once more. I got hit in the ribs just under my left arm. It fractured two of my ribs and bumped my heart over on to my right side. I still have three pieces of shrapnel in me. I do not know whether they intend leaving them there or not. I am feeling fairly well now, but it gave me the biggest shaking up at the time that I have ever had. I that it went that close to my heart that I had little hope. I don't think it did go far short either. It doubled me up anyway. This happened in the advance at Ypres on 12th October. It is the hottest shop on the whole front. We arrived up where our front line is at about 2 o'clock in the morning, and, of course, it had to start raining just to make things pleasant. We had no coats, as we could not carry them. I dumped my bag of bombs in the mud, sat down on them with my back to the wind and rain, and shivered. There are absolutely no trenches here. They just lay along in shell holes and get the best cover they can. Old Fritz expected us, and as soon as we got there he started lobbing the shells over like one thing. We sat there and took our chance. The shells were just lobbing over our heads nicely. It was 5.25 — the first streak of daylight had just shown itself — when our guns burst open. We hopped up, stuck our bayonets on, grabbed our bags of bombs and started off. I had not gone more than 50 yards when I stopped mine, and lucky for me too, or no doubt I would have been there yet. It was absolutely impossible to get the wounded in. I might say that the ground had been taken by the Tommies a few days before, but old Fritz counterattacked and got it back. There were dead lying everywhere. They also found wounded Tommies that had been lying out for five days. I crawled into a shell hole that was half full of mud and water (it being the only cover a fellow could get) and lay there for some hours till I saw one of my cobbers — a stretcher-bearer — standing at the dressing station that was in one of Fritz's concrete pill boxes, which had been captured previously. I waved, and he came across and carried me in. There I was no room inside, so I lay outside till evening. Everyone was in a terrible state, covered in mud from head to foot. You would think they had been dipped right down out of sight in mud and pulled out again. Well, in the evening they brought along some prisoners, and four were set on to carry me over country which previous advances had been made over before, and it was nearly impossible to walk over. Anyway, these Fritzs took me out quick enough. It was the shells that did the trick. They were bursting thickly around, and the Fritzs had the wind up properly. The trouble was the beggars tried to go too quick and rolled me off twice. I called them everything I could think of, and if I could have got up I would have knocked their heads off. I was in awful pain, and could only get my breath in short gasps, and to get rolled off a stretcher shoulder high into mud and water was no joke. They got me to the main dressing station, and some time that night I arrived at the C.C.S. I was there for a few days till I got a bit better. Then I was sent down to the base, and on over here, and, "by jove," I don't want to go back too soon again either, nor do I want to see the same awful sights that I saw at Ypres in my life. All the Australians were up there and had been over the top twice. They were to be relieved by the Canadians shortly after I left. They were to go out for a spell and to get reorganised again. The Australians, along with some crack Tommy, Irish, and Scottish regiments, were being used as storming troops. Just go in, do a hop over, relieved in either 24 or 48 hours, and out again. They must have advanced a good 8 miles now, and the country is left in a state too. Ypres is juat a heap of grounded bricks. There is not one building left standing. -- Oh, I have just got word that Jack Bright was wounded the same morning as I was. He got it in the face somewhere, but it was only a slight wound, and he did not get across with it.

3583 Pte MILLS James Henry, 59th Battalion, enlisted 6 August 1915, Returned To Australia 30 January 1918.

Trafalgar and Yarragon Times 12 April 1918 On Saturday last Coalville residents again assembled at the station to welcome home Private Jim Mills, brother of Mrs L. Thorpe and Mr. W. Mills. Although unable to walk without the aid of a stick our soldier boy looked well and expressed himself as delighted to be back again with us. His visit was only a flying one as he'had to return to hospital on Monday. We hope to see and hear more of him in the near future. Sorrow and joy never seem to walk far apart. The same day brought confirmation of the death of Private Arthur Horsnell, son of Mr and Mrs A. O. Horsnell, who has been missing since the 18th of August, 1916. It was a sad coincidence that this news should have come through on the day as his pal, Jim, who left Australia with him, came back.

ELECTORAL ROLL In 1939 Millses are thick on the ground in the Gippsland Federal Electorate At Briagalong : Thomas Mills, grazier; Vera Beaumont, H/D; James Henry, carpenter. At Boisdale: Henrietta Evelyn Ellen, H/D; Mary Jean, H/D; Peter Frank, farmer; Thomas Alonzo John, labourer. At Maffra: Ivan Burton Mills, labourer (Thomas' grandson)

The Argus 11 March 1940 NOTICE is hereby given that after the explratlon of fourteen days from the publication hereof application will be made to the Supreme Court of the State of Victoria In Its Probate jurlsdlctlon that PROBATE, of the WILL of THOMAS MILLS late of Briagalong In the state of Victoria farmer deceased (which said will bears date the twenty first day of April one thousand nine hundred and thirty eight) be granted to James Henry Mills of Briagalong aforesaid farmer and Peter Frank Mills of Boisdale In the said state farmer sons of deceased the executors appointed by the said will Doted the eighth day of March one thousand nine hundred and forty C P SEMMENS Johnson street Maffra solicitor for the applicants

1946 James Henry, carpenter, is at Briagalong with Vera Beaumont Mills, H/D, his wife.

Gippsland Times 19 Aug 1948 THE LOG CABIN Briagolong's Notable Achievement Steady progress is being maintained in the construction of a log cabin at Briagolong by returned servicemen of, that district, and when completed will be the club room of the local branch R.S.L. All the logs in the construction of the walls are in position and the formation of, the roof is now well advanced, The floor joists have all been laid, and the flooring. which is of sawn hardwood, has been temporarily cut down so as to have same well seasoned before the final cramping up and nailing in position. With the lengthening of the days and. warmer weather not far away, the tempo of enthusiasm will undoubtedly quicken, and then the busy "bees" will swarm. around the "hive" in the execution of the finishing touches. All the various operations from the felling of the trees in the forest, the loading, carting, shaping and placing of the logs in the walls, the milling of the sawn timber for the formation of the roof and floor, and the one hundred and one other. little items which are not seen, have to date been caried out by working bees. At the moment, the G.O.C. Building Operations (Mr. Jim Mills) is slightly worried over the construction of the fireplace. He has abundant supply of Briagolong freestone for the work, but could do with someone to undertake this particular job.

DEATH & BURIAL First name(s) James Henry (Jim) Last name Mills Birth year 1892 Birth date 25 Aug 1892 Death year 1987 Death date 29 Sep 1987 Cemetery Briagolong Cemetery City Briagolong State Victoria Country Australia

From Briagalong Cemetery records, 2015. 348. MILLS James Henry (Jim), 95y, born August 25 1892, died September 29 1987, buried October 2 1987 at Briagalong Cemetery, Section F, Lot 43. Son of Thomas Mills and Rachel Burton, Born in Briagalong. Uniting Church section.

Record set Victoria Wills & Probate First name(s) James Henry Sex Male Last name Mills Grant year 1987 Death year 1987 Occupation Rtd Farmer Residence Maffra State Victoria Country Australia Nature of grant P Death date 29 Sep 1987 Grant date 08 Dec 1987 There is a small collection of news items re Jim.