The Honourable ''The Honourable'' (British English) or ''The Honorable'' ( American English; see spelling differences) (abbreviation: ''Hon.'', ''Hon'ble'', or variations) is an honorific style that is used as a prefix before the names or titles of certa ...

Charles Thomas Mills (13 March 1887 – 6 October 1915) was Conservative

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members o ...

for

Uxbridge Uxbridge () is a suburban town in west London and the administrative headquarters of the London Borough of Hillingdon. Situated west-northwest of Charing Cross, it is one of the major metropolitan centres identified in the London Plan. Uxb ...

, elected in January 1910 when he was the youngest MP. He was killed, serving as an officer with the Scots Guards on the

Western Front Western Front or West Front may refer to: Military frontiers * Western Front (World War I), a military frontier to the west of Germany *Western Front (World War II), a military frontier to the west of Germany *Western Front (Russian Empire), a maj ...

Biography

Born on 13 March 1887, he was the eldest son of Charles William Mills, 2nd Baron Hillingdon (1855–1919) who served as Conservative

for Sevenoaks from 1885 to 1892, and his wife Alice Marion Harbord, daughter of Charles Harbord, 5th Baron Suffield. He processed at the

coronation of Edward VII and Alexandra The coronation of Edward VII and his wife, Alexandra, as King and Queen of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and as Emperor and Empress of India took place at Westminster Abbey, London, on 9 August 1902. Originally scheduled for 2 ...

in 1902 with Lord Suffield who was Master of the Robes. He was educated at The New Beacon,

Eton College Eton College () is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school in Eton, Berkshire, England. It was founded in 1440 by Henry VI of England, Henry VI under the name ''Kynge's College of Our Ladye of Eton besyde Windesore'',Nevill, p. 3 ff. i ...

, and

Magdalen College, Oxford Magdalen College (, ) is a constituent college of the University of Oxford. It was founded in 1458 by William of Waynflete. Today, it is the fourth wealthiest college, with a financial endowment of £332.1 million as of 2019 and one of the ...

He joined the family bank Glyn, Mills, Currie & Co. in 1910. He and his father were meant to be on the maiden voyage of the ''

Titanic RMS ''Titanic'' was a British passenger liner, operated by the White Star Line, which sank in the North Atlantic Ocean on 15 April 1912 after striking an iceberg during her maiden voyage from Southampton, England, to New York City, Unite ...

'' but stayed home due to his father's ill health. Mills was elected Conservative Member of Parliament for the Uxbridge Division of Middlesex at the

January 1910 general election The January 1910 United Kingdom general election was held from 15 January to 10 February 1910. The government called the election in the midst of a constitutional crisis caused by the rejection of the People's Budget by the Conservative-dominat ...

and re-elected in the December 1910 election. In his first parliament, he was the ' Baby of the House', the youngest MP. He was first commissioned as an army officer in April 1908 in the West Kent (Queen's Own) Yeomanry and promoted

lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations. The meaning of lieutenant differs in different militaries (see comparative military ranks), but it is often ...

in 1912. He transferred from the

Territorial Force The Territorial Force was a part-time volunteer component of the British Army, created in 1908 to augment British land forces without resorting to conscription. The new organisation consolidated the 19th-century Volunteer Force and yeomanry ...

to the Scots Guards in May 1915. He was killed in action on 6 October 1915 at Hulluch during the Battle of Loos while a lieutenant with 2nd Battalion, the Scots Guards. He was unmarried. As he has no known grave, Mills is commemorated on the

Loos Memorial The Loos Memorial is a World War I memorial forming the sides and rear of Dud Corner Cemetery, located near the commune of Loos-en-Gohelle, in the Pas-de-Calais département of France. The memorial lists 20,610 names of British and Commonwealth ...

. He is also commemorated on Panel 8 of the Parliamentary War Memorial in

Westminster Hall The Palace of Westminster serves as the meeting place for both the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons and the House of Lords, the two houses of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Informally known as the Houses of Parli ...

, one of 22 MPs who died fighting in the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

; and by a plaque in Hillingdon's parish church. Mills is one of 19 MPs who fell in the war commemorated by heraldic shields in the Commons Chamber. A fifth commemoration is the production in 1932 of a manuscript-style illuminated book of remembrance for the House of Commons, which includes a short biographical account of his life and death. The inscription on the memorial erected to his memory by his family in St John the Baptist's Church, Hillingdon contains two quotes: "He greeted the unseen with a cheer." (recalling a line from

Robert Browning Robert Browning (7 May 1812 – 12 December 1889) was an English poet and playwright whose dramatic monologues put him high among the Victorian poets. He was noted for irony, characterization, dark humour, social commentary, historical sett ...

's poem ''Epilogue''); and "So he passed over and the trumpets sounded for him on the other side." (from '' The Pilgrim's Progress'' by John Bunyan). His brother Arthur Mills succeeded him, unopposed, as Member of Parliament for Uxbridge.

Arms

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Mills, Charles Thomas 1887 births 1915 deaths British Army personnel of World War I British military personnel killed in World War I Conservative Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies Heirs apparent who never acceded Eldest sons of British hereditary barons Queen's Own West Kent Yeomanry officers Scots Guards officers UK MPs 1910 UK MPs 1910–1918