Charles Mills (Royal Navy officer)

Educated at the Royal Naval College, Dartmouth, Mills joined the Royal Navy in 1932.[1]

Mills served in the Second World War and briefly commanded HMS Brazen in 1939.[1] He worked at Western Approaches Command in Liverpool at the height of the Battle of the Atlantic.[1] He went on to be a signals officer at Algiers before joining the planning staff for the Normandy landings.[1] He then became a signals officer based in Ceylon.[1]

Mills also fought in the Korean War as captain of the destroyer HMS Concord, earning the Distinguished Service Cross for his services.[1] He was then made Second-in-Command of the signals school at Portsmouth, and then from 1956, he became Chief Staff Officer to the Flag Officer Second-in-Command, Mediterranean Fleet.[1] He was appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire for services during the Suez Crisis.[1] In 1959 he took command of the destroyer HMS Daring and the 2nd Destroyer Squadron and in 1963 he was made Director-General (Weapons).[1]

Mills was appointed Flag Officer Second-in-Command Far East Fleet in 1966 and the final Commander-in-Chief, Plymouth, in 1967.[1] He retired in 1969 and became Lieutenant Governor of Guernsey.[1]

In retirement Mills lived at Aldeburgh in Suffolk.[2]

In 1944 he married Anne Cumberlege; they went on to have two daughters.[1]

• Imperial War Museum Interview