Sir Nicholas Bayard Dill

CBE The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

(28 December 1905 – 10 September 1993), known as Bayard Dill, was a prominent Bermudian politician, lawyer and military officer.

Early life

Bayard Dill was born on 28 December 1905, at Newbold Place, his parents' home in

Devonshire Parish, Bermuda Devonshire Parish is one of the nine Administrative divisions of Bermuda, parishes of Bermuda. Originally named ''Cavendish Tribe'' and later Devonshire Tribe, for William Cavendish, 1st Earl of Devonshire (1552–1626). ''Devonshire Redoubt'', on ...

. His father,

Thomas Melville Dill Lieutenant-Colonel Thomas Melville Dill OBE (23 December 1876 – 7 March 1945) was a prominent Bermudian lawyer, politician, and soldier. Early life Dill was born in Devonshire Parish, in the British Imperial fortress colony of Bermuda, th ...

(1876–1945), was a prominent Bermudian lawyer, politician and soldier, who would serve as the Commanding Officer of the

Bermuda Militia Artillery The Bermuda Militia Artillery was a unit of part-time soldiers organised in 1895 as a reserve for the Royal Garrison Artillery detachment of the Regular Army garrison in the Imperial fortress colony of Bermuda. Militia Artillery units of the Un ...

, a Member of the

Colonial Parliament Colonial or The Colonial may refer to: * Colonial, of, relating to, or characteristic of a colony or colony (biology) Architecture * American colonial architecture * French colonial architecture * Spanish colonial architecture Automobiles * Co ...

(MCP) for Devonshire, and Attorney General of Bermuda. His mother, born Ruth Rapalje Neilson (1880–1973), was a native of

New Jersey New Jersey is a U.S. state, state located in both the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. Located at the geographic hub of the urban area, heavily urbanized Northeas ...

. The Dill family had been prominent in Bermuda since the 1630s. His paternal grandfather, Thomas Newbold Dill (1837–1910), was a merchant, a Member of the Colonial Parliament (MCP) for Devonshire Parish from 1868 to 1888, a Member of the Legislative Council and an Assistant Justice from 1888, Mayor of the City of Hamilton from 1891 to 1897, served on numerous committees and boards, and was a member of the Devonshire Church (Church of England) and Devonshire Parish vestries (the latter is now termed a Parish Council).

Legal and political career

Bayard Dill followed his father into law as a barrister, completing a law degree at the University of Cambridge and being admitted to the bar at

Middle Temple The Honourable Society of the Middle Temple, commonly known simply as Middle Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court entitled to Call to the bar, call their members to the English Bar as barristers, the others being the Inner Temple (with whi ...

, London, in 1926, and the Supreme Court of Bermuda in 1927. He was a founding member in the 1930s of the Conyers Dill & Pearman law firm (that played an important role in Bermuda's development as an offshore business centre). He also became a prominent politician, the MCP for Devonshire North from 1938 until he was defeated as an incumbent in the 1963 election by

Lois Browne-Evans Dame Lois Marie Browne-Evans Order of the British Empire, DBE Justice of Peace, JP (1 June 1927 – 29 May 2007) was a lawyer and political figure in Bermuda. She led the Progressive Labour Party (Bermuda), Progressive Labour Party (PLP) in oppo ...

. He was also appointed to HM Executive Council of Bermuda on 23 August 1944. Bayard Dill played a key role in negotiating the agreement with the US for its military and naval bases in Bermuda during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, which were granted to the US free for ninety-nine years as part of the

Destroyers for Bases Agreement The destroyers-for-bases deal was an agreement between the United States and the United Kingdom on 2 September 1940, according to which 50 , , and -class US Navy destroyers were transferred to the Royal Navy from the US Navy in exchange for lan ...

(although Britain received no destroyers in exchange for the bases in Bermuda). Some of the land procured by the US for building the Naval Operating Base had belonged to the Dill family.

Military career

Bayard Dill also served as a military officer, receiving a commission into the

Bermuda Volunteer Engineers The Bermuda Volunteer Engineers was a part-time unit created between the two world wars to replace the Regular Royal Engineers detachment, which was withdrawn from the Bermuda Garrison in 1928. History The Military Garrison in Bermuda From 1895 ...

(BVE) as a second-lieutenant dated 31 May 1934. The BVE had been formed in 1931 to operate search lights at Bermuda's

coastal artillery Coastal artillery is the branch of the armed forces concerned with operating anti-ship artillery or fixed gun batteries in coastal fortifications. From the Middle Ages until World War II, coastal artillery and naval artillery in the form of ...

batteries (the guns being operated by the BMA) due to the 1928 withdrawal from Bermuda of the Royal Engineers fortress company previously tasked with that role. In 1937, it also absorbed the signals section of the

Bermuda Volunteer Rifle Corps The Bermuda Volunteer Rifle Corps (BVRC) was created in 1894 as a reserve for the British Army, Regular Army infantry component of the Bermuda Garrison. Renamed the ''Bermuda Rifles'' in 1951, it was amalgamated into the Bermuda Regiment in 1965 ...

, providing signals detachments to other units of the

Bermuda Garrison The Bermuda Garrison was the military establishment maintained on the British Overseas Territory and Imperial fortress of Bermuda by the regular British Army and its local-service militia and voluntary reserves from 1701 to 1957. The garrison ev ...

. Dill was promoted to lieutenant on 31 May 1937. The first commanding officer of the BVE was Captain H. D. (later Sir Harry) Butterfield, and the second-in-command was Lieutenant

Cecil Montgomery-Moore Major Cecil Montgomery-Moore DFC (1 July 1899 – 8 December 1970) was an American-born Bermudian First World War fighter pilot, and commander of the Bermuda Volunteer Engineers and the Bermuda Flying School during the Second World War. Early ...

, DFC. In 1932, Butterfield retired, and Montgomery-Moore succeeded him. Lieutenant Bayard Dill became the new second-in-command. He was promoted to Acting-Captain on 12 July 1940, and to Temporary-Captain on 12 October. He relinquished his commission on 23 August 1944.

Private life

Bayard Dill's siblings included Ruth Rapalje Dill, Thomas Newbold Dill, Laurence Dill, Helen Dill, Frances Rapalje Dill, and

Diana Dill Diana Love Webster (née Dill; formerly Douglas and Darrid; January 22, 1923 – July 3, 2015), known professionally as Diana Douglas, was a Bermudian-American actress who was married to actor Kirk Douglas from 1943 until their divorce in 1951. ...

. Ruth Dill was married to

John Seward Johnson I John Seward Johnson I (July 14, 1895 – May 23, 1983) was one of the sons of Robert Wood Johnson I (co-founder of Johnson & Johnson). He was also known as J. Seward Johnson Sr. and Seward Johnson. He was a longtime executive and director of J ...

, heir to the

Johnson & Johnson Johnson & Johnson (J&J) is an American multinational pharmaceutical, biotechnology, and medical technologies corporation headquartered in New Brunswick, New Jersey, and publicly traded on the New York Stock Exchange. Its common stock is a c ...

fortune. Diana Dill, moved to the US, becoming an actress, and was married to actor

Kirk Douglas Kirk Douglas (born Issur Danielovitch; December 9, 1916 – February 5, 2020) was an American actor and filmmaker. After an impoverished childhood, he made his film debut in '' The Strange Love of Martha Ivers'' (1946) with Barbara Stanwyck. ...

, with whom she had two sons,

Michael Douglas Michael Kirk Douglas (born September 25, 1944) is an American actor and film producer. He has received numerous accolades, including two Academy Awards, five Golden Globe Awards, a Primetime Emmy Award, the Cecil B. DeMille Award, and the ...

and

Joel Douglas Joel Andrew Douglas (born January 23, 1947) is an American film producer. The second son of Kirk Douglas (1916–2020) and Diana Douglas (1923–2015), he was born one day after his mother's 24th birthday. His paternal grandparents were Jew ...

. Bayard married Lucy Clare Watlington on 3 July 1930. They had two sons,

barrister A barrister is a type of lawyer in common law jurisdiction (area), jurisdictions. Barristers mostly specialise in courtroom advocacy and litigation. Their tasks include arguing cases in courts and tribunals, drafting legal pleadings, jurisprud ...

Nicholas Bayard Dill Jr, born in 1932,Company Director Check
Mr Nicholas Bayard Dill Jr and Henry David Melville Dill, born in 1934. His grandson Nick Dill is the current Anglican Bishop of Bermuda. Bayard Dill received a

knighthood A knight is a person granted an honorary title of a knighthood by a head of state (including the pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church, or the country, especially in a military capacity. The concept of a knighthood ...

in 1951. He died aged 87 after a heart attack on 10 September 1993, being eulogised, like his father, in the ''Royal Gazette''."The Year in Review", ''The Royal Gazette'', 31 December 1993.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dill, Nicholas Bayard 1905 births 1993 deaths People from Devonshire Parish Members of the House of Assembly of Bermuda Bermudian soldiers Military of Bermuda Royal Engineers officers Dill family Bermudian people of American descent Bermudian people of World War II Knights Bachelor Commanders_of_the_Order_of_the_British_Empire