George Mills (1923-4 June 1940) was a British teenager from Weymouth Dorset who, on 4 June 1940, gave his life to aid in the Dunkirk evacuation. His heroic deed was commemorated by the Weymouth Herald newspaper.
Biography[]
George Mills was born in Ramsgate, Kent, England in 1923, and he worked as a hand aboard Mark Dawson's pleasure craft, the Moonstone, at the time of the outbreak of World War II. Mills dreamed of becoming a Royal Air Force pilot, and, on 4 June 1940, he joined Mark and Peter Dawson in sailing the Moonstone to Dunkirk, France to aid in the evacuation of the trapped British Army troops on the beach. During the journey, the three civilians rescued the shell-shocked soldier Adam Parks from his downed ship, but, as the boat neared Dunkirk, Parks panicked, as he did not want to go back into harm's way. Parks attempted to wrest control of the steering wheel from Captain Dawson, and, when Mills attempted to intervene, Parks inadvertently knocked him down a short staircase, causing Mills to hit his head and be severely injured. Mills went blind as a result of his injuries, and he died later that day. Peter Dawson later told the Weymouth Herald of Mills' actions, causing the Herald to print a story praising Mills' heroism for his death during the rescue mission. George makes an important statement which prompted Peter Dawson to let him in. An act to greatness isn't to lift a stone, he says "...I will be useful..." and he's useful. He packed in life jackets, hoping to rescued many soldiers, he didn't back down, he continues till death smiles at him and humbled himself.