John Robert Mills
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Comment: Please do not put the name of the subject in bold face or other emphasis. Please do not refer to him by initials. He may be referred to by his surname after introduction. Robert McClenon (talk) 08:45, 23 September 2016 (UTC)
- Thanks for helpful advice Robert. Amended as suggested. Moonbouncer54, 23 September 2016 (GMT)
- Sorry but JR MIlls is NOT the first to bounce a signal from the moon. In 1946, an American team (File:1946-01-31 Radar makes Round Trip To Moon.ogv) and a month later Zoltán Lajos Bay (http://web.archive.org/web/20040729193558/http://www.tungsram.hu/tungsram/downloads/tungsram/tu_short_history_1896-1996.pdf) were the first! The title has to be changedPierre cb (talk) 13:58, 26 September 2016 (UTC)
- Pierre. Thanks for your knowledge. Is it acceptable to add 'British' before scientist ?
- Pierre. Thank you for assistance by showing use of 'gallery'. A much improved layout. I have tweaked it to 'gallery mode=packed heights=200px'. Thanks again.
John Mills | |
|---|---|
 John Mills aged 60 in 1976 | |
| Born | 12 November 1916 Barnes, Surrey, England |
| Died | 6 May 1998 (aged 81) Malvern, Worcestershire, England |
| Alma mater | Kings College London |
| Spouse |
Pauline Phelps (m. 1950) |
| Children | Two sons |
| Awards | 1971 Fellow IEE (Now IET since 2006 ) |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Defence Scientist Specialist in: Radar, Military Communications and Navigation Systems |
| Institutions | AMRE, Dundee RAE, Farnbourough TRE, RRE, Malvern Min Tech, London SRDE, Christchurch RSRE, Malvern |
Summary
John Robert Mills (, FIEE), born November 12th 1916 and died May 6th 1998,[1] was a British physicist and scientific expert who played an important role in the development of Radar and the defence of Britain in World War II. After the war he continued his career working for various British government research establishments on a variety of projects until his retirement in 1977. [2]
In addition to many achievements and contributions to military technological development, John Mills was the first British scientist to receive radio-wave signals bounced off the moon[3]
Education & Early Career
Following his education at the Kingston-upon-Thames Grammar School he gained a BSc in physics at Kings College London in 1939 (The start of WW2) and later the same year he joined the Air Ministry Research Establishment in Dundee. In 1940 he moved to the Royal Aircraft Establishment (RAE) at Farnborough and in 1942 moved to the Telecommunications Research Establishment (TRE) in Malvern which later became the Radar Research Establishment (RRE) and later still the Royal Radar Establishment (RRE) where he stayed until 1960.[2]
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John Mills
aged 24 in 1940 -
John Mills
aged 28 in 1944
John Mills was part of the pioneering team during the second World War that developed Radar. His early work in support of the emerging radar technology and its applications including air navigation systems and later as Superintendent of the (Offensive) Airborne Radar Division at RRE he was responsible for the development of infra-red radar targeting and reconnaissance systems for the Royal Air Force and Royal Navy.
His team also developed equipment for navigation, targeting and reconnaissance for aircraft of the RAF and RN. This included equipment for the V bomber force and the projected TSR2 as well as the development of the first successful sideways looking reconnaissance radar which was further developed by the USA and led, inter alia, to today’s satellite radar systems.[2]
Career 1960 to 1967
Mills spent about a year in London followed by five years at RAE as head of Radio Department where his responsibilities included:
- Electronic warfare systems,
- Very Low Frequency (VLF) navigation which led to the Omega system
- Radio propagation studies.
During this period his team received the first message bounced off the Moon from the USA, work which eventually led to modern satellite communications. He also worked in the development of the first automatic aircraft landing system.[2]
John Mills was appointed Scientific Advisor to Rt Hon Tony Wedgewood-Benn (Minister of Technology) in 1966.[2]
S.R.D.E. 1967 to 1976
From 1967 to 1976 John Mills was the director of the Signals Research and Development Establishment (SRDE) in Christchurch, Dorset. During this period he was responsible for progress in three major technical areas:[2]
- Night vision devices, mainly for the Army in which image intensifier technology was exploited in equipment’s from rifle sights to systems for tanks and other vehicles.[2]
- Tactical and strategic radio and communication network systems some of which are still in use by the British Army[2]
- Military satellite communication systems with emphasis on light weight ground terminals for mobile use.[2]
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John Mills
aged 54 in 1970 -
John Mills
with SRDE team in 1974
In 1971, Mills was appointed as a Fellow of the IEE (FIEE), IET since 2006[3]. The IET is now one of the world’s largest engineering institutions with over 167,000 members in 127 countries.[4] ‘Fellow’ was the highest grade of IEE membership and was awarded to individuals who have sustained high levels of achievement, for example through leadership, influence, senior responsibility, innovation, and professional service, at the forefront of engineering, technology or cognate disciplines.[5]
The Final Chapter 1976 - 1977
The final chapter in John Mills's career in defence was a return to Malvern in 1976 as Deputy Director of the Royal Signals and Radar Establishment (RSRE) formed by moving SRDE to Malvern as part of the programme to rationalise the defence establishments. His team worked on advanced military and satellite communications. John Mills held this post until his retirement in 1977.[2]
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John Mills
aged 60 in 1976 -
John Mills with HM The Queen and
HRH The Duke of Edinburgh at RSRE in 1976
Publications
John Mills contributed to an article on radar published in the Encyclopedia Britannica[3]
John Mills published "Radio Techniques for Automatic Systems in the Air" in the Journal of Navigation in 1960[6]
John Mills joint published "The Long-range Navigation of Civil Aircraft" in the Journal of Navigation in 1964[7]
Family
John Mills married Pauline Phelps during his first spell at Malvern in 1950.[3] He was very much a family man with keen interests in music and gardening,[2] He is survived by his wife and two sons.[3]
Acknowledgements
- Pictures courtesy of Ministry of Defence. © Crown Copyright. Reproduced under the terms of the Open Government Licence http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/[8]
- Thanks to Ken Slater who originally wrote an article in 1998 for the Institute of Physics publication, Physics World[2]
References
- ^ "www.familysearch.org". Retrieved 20 September 2016.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Slater, Kenneth (July 1998). "John Mills 1916-1998". Physics World (Inst of Physics). 11 (7): 41. ISSN 0953-8585.
- ^ a b c d e "John Mills (Obituary)". Daily Telegraph. 17 July 1998. p. 29.
- ^ "About the IET". IET. Retrieved 26 September 2016.
- ^ "Fellow (FIET)". IET. Retrieved 26 September 2016.
- ^ "Radio Techniques for Automatic Systems in the Air". The Journal of Navigation. 13 (1). Cambridge University Press: 47–58. doi:10.1017/S037346330003722X.
- ^ "The Long-range Navigation of Civil Aircraft". The Journal of Navigation. 17 (2). Cambridge University Press: 167–182. doi:10.1017/S0373463300048530.
- ^ "Open Government Licence". Open Government Licence. The National Archives. 22 September 2016.
Category:Radar pioneers
Category:English physicists
Category:British military engineers
Category:Military communications of the United Kingdom
Category:British people of World War II