Canadian Virtual War Memorial
William Anderson Millar
In memory of:
Lieutenant William Anderson Millar
July 15, 1944
Military Service
31
Army
Royal Canadian Engineers
7 Field Coy.
Mentioned in Despatches
Additional Information
Son of William A. and Catherine Gracey Millar, of Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. B.Sc. (University of Alberta). Brother of Donald Millar, Lieutenant James Lea Millar, and Flying Officer John Whitla Millar, who died on February 8, 1943, while serving with the Royal Canadian Air Force.
Commemorated on Page 394 of the Second World War Book of Remembrance. Request a copy of this page. Download high resolution copy of this page.
Burial Information
BROOKWOOD MEMORIAL
Surrey, United Kingdom
Panel 23. Column 2.
The Brookwood Memorial stands in the large Brookwood Military Cemetery, which forms part of the London Necropolis at Brookwood, west of Woking, about 48 kilometres from London. The garden in which the Memorial stands is at the south end of the Canadian Section (Second World War) located on the far side of St. Lawrence Avenue, the highway leading in from the main entrance on the Pirbright road. The memorial commemorates 3,475 men and women of the land forces of the British Commonwealth and Empire who died during the Second World War and whose names could not appropriately be recorded on any of the campaign memorials in the different theatres of war. There are names of men and women who served as special agents and died as prisoners or while working with Allied underground movements. A few of the names on the memorial commemorate those whose bodies were never recovered or those graves which could not, for some other reason, be marked and maintained by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission. The names of over 200 Canadians are remembered on the Brookwood Memorial. Some perished in ships that were sunken in waters outside the territorial limits of any major campaign; some were lost overboard; some died from various causes on hospital ships or troop transports and were given burial at sea. Also commemorated are those who died during the campaign in Norway in 1940, and in raids on enemy-occupied territory in Europe, including the costly operation against Dieppe in August 1942.
Information courtesy of the Commonwealth War Graves Commission.
Digital Collection
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Memorial – Remembering brothers lost … Brothers In Arms Memorial, Zonnebeke, BE … photo courtesy of Marg Liessens … May 2022 -
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Newspaper clipping – From the Edmonton Bulletin August 1942. Submitted for the project Operation Picture Me -
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Photo of William Anderson Millar – Lt. Millar was taken prisoner at Dieppe, France August 19, 1942 and together with other captured officers was transported to a Prisoner of War Camp for British prisoners, Oflag 7B at Eichstatt, Germany. He successfully escaped four times, being recaptured each time after varying periods of freedom. Details of Lt. Millar's escape career include:August 1942: Escaped from the train carrying POW's to Eichstatt.June 3 and 4, 1942: One of seventy six escapers who tunneled out of the camp. All were recaptured and served 14 days in detention. June 20, 1942: Along with two others, he escaped again by removing bars from windows and rapelling 50 feet to the ground.July 1943: Lt. Millar was among the seventy six Eichstatt escapers moved to the maximum security POW Camp OFLAG IVC at Colditz, Germany. This castle fortress was intended to be an escape proof prison.September 11, 1943: He attempted to escape Colditz posing as a Polish Officer scheduled to receive medical treatment outside the prison; the ruse was discovered prior to leaving the castle.January 1944: Lt. Millar escaped through the prisoner's kitchen and suspended himself under a truck that left the camp each day.The last known person to see Lt. Millar alive was Sgt. William McMurray, RCE who was captured with Lt. Millar at Dieppe. He stated in response to a Department of Defence inquiry in 1945 that he saw Lt. Millar in the detention room at Stalag VIIIB in February 1944. As far as he was able to determine, Lt. Millar was taken out of the camp shortly thereafter.Lt. Millar's fate is unknown. He was a man of courage and determination whose time as a prisoner was dominated be a desire to be free. A permanent testimonial to his memory is located on the Memorial at the Brookwood Military Cemetery, Brookwood, Surrey, England. -
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Memorial (Photo 1) -
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Memorial (Photo 2) -
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Memorial (Photo 3) -
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Brookwood Memorial -
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Newspaper Clipping – From the Edmonton Journal. Submitted for the project, Operation: Picture Me -
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Newspaper Clipping – From the Edmonton Journal. Submitted for the project, Operation: Picture Me -
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Biography (Page 1) -
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Biography (Page 2) -
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Biography (Page 3) -
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Biography (Page 4) -
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Memorial – Bayeux Memorial - August 2012 -
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Inscription – Lieutenant William Anderson Millar is also commemorated on the Bayeux Memorial - August 2012 Photo courtesy of Marg Liessens
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