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Thomas Melville Dill

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Thomas Melville Dill
Born(1876-12-23)23 December 1876
Devonshire Parish, Bermuda
Died7 March 1945(1945-03-07) (aged 68)
Buried
Devonshire Parish, Bermuda
Allegiance United Kingdom
 Bermuda
Service/branch British Army
Years of service1895–1928
RankLieutenant-Colonel
UnitBermuda Contingent, Royal Garrison Artillery (Bermuda Militia Artillery)
Battles/warsFirst World War
AwardsOfficer of the Order of the British Empire
RelationsRuth Dill, Tommy Dill, Nicholas Bayard Dill, Francis Dill, Diana Dill, Michael Douglas, Joel Douglas, Mary Lea Johnson Richards, John Seward Johnson II, Diana Firestone

Lieutenant-Colonel Thomas Melville Dill OBE (23 December 1876 – 7 March 1945) was a prominent Bermudian lawyer, politician, and soldier.

Early life

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Dill was born in Devonshire Parish, in the British Imperial fortress colony of Bermuda, the son of Mary Lea (née Smith) and Thomas Newbold Dill. The Dill family had been established in Bermuda in the 1630s.

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).

Thomas Melville Dill was named for his seafaring paternal grandfather, who had lost his master's certificate after the wreck of the Bermudian-built Cedrine on the Isle of Wight, which had been returning the last convict labourers from the Royal Naval Dockyard in Bermuda to Britain in 1863.[1][2][3][4]

Military career

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The Bermuda Contingent of the Royal Garrison Artillery

Thomas Dill entered the fledgeling Bermuda Volunteer Rifle Corps in 1895 as a rifleman, before transferring to the Bermuda Militia Artillery, a reserve of the Royal Regiment of Artillery, as a lieutenant. The British Army maintained a large Bermuda Garrison of regular and part-time artillery and infantry units to guard the Royal Naval Dockyard, and other strategic assets in the Imperial fortress colony.

By 1914, then-Captain Dill was the Commandant, but he handed that position to a subordinate to lead the unit's First Contingent to the Western Front, receiving a temporary regular commission as a Major.[5]

Serving as part of the larger Royal Garrison Artillery draft to the front, the Bermudian contingent was strongly praised by Field Marshal Douglas Haig.[6][7]

After the war, Major Dill returned to Bermuda, resuming his command of the BMA.[8][9] His substantive rank was still Captain until he was promoted to substantive Major in 1921, though dated 12 November 1919.[10] He retired on 21 April 1928 with the honorary-rank of lieutenant-colonel (substantive rank of major).[11][12]

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In addition to his role as a military officer, Dill pursued a legal career, becoming Bermuda's Attorney General.[13]

He entered politics, and served as a Member of the Colonial Parliament (MCP) for Devonshire parish from 1904 until 1938. He was also appointed to the Executive Council.[14] He was an avid historian, whose articles were published in the Bermuda Historical Quarterly.[citation needed]

Personal life

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Dill married Ruth Rapalje Neilson (1880–1973) on 15 October 1900, and they had several children, some of whom followed him to positions of prominence in Bermuda or abroad. Their children were Ruth Rapalje Dill (1901–1986), Thomas Newbold Dill (1903–1970), Sir Nicholas Bayard Dill (known as Bayard Dill) (1905–1993), Laurence Dill (1907–1984), Frances Rapalje Dill (1915–2009) and Diana Dill (1923–2015).

Bayard Dill was an officer in the Bermuda Volunteer Engineers, a founding member of the Conyers, Dill & Pearman law firm (that played an important role in Bermuda's development as an offshore business centre),[15] and a prominent politician who was knighted in 1951. He also played a key role in negotiating the agreement with the US for its military and naval bases in Bermuda during the Second World War.[16][17][18][19]

Ruth Dill was married to John Seward Johnson I, heir to the Johnson & Johnson fortune. Their children included Mary Lea Johnson Richards, John Seward Johnson II, and Diana Firestone. Diana Dill moved to the US, becoming an actress. She was married to actor Kirk Douglas, with whom she had two sons, actor and producer Michael Douglas,[13][20][21] and producer Joel Douglas. His great grandson, the Right Reverend Nicholas Dill (of the Anglican Church of Bermuda), was installed as Bishop of Bermuda on 29 May 2013.[22][23][24]

Death

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Dill died of a heart attack on 7 March 1945, following injuries sustained during a fall in February. He was eulogised on the front page of The Royal Gazette.[13]

References

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  1. ^ Bermuda's Architectural Heritage: Hamilton Parish, Author: Diana Chudleigh, Editor: David L. White. Published by: The Bermuda National Trust, 2002.
  2. ^ Genealogy Forum: Dill Family of Bermuda starting with Lawrence in 1631. Accessed 8 January 2023.
  3. ^ Bermuda's History from 1800 to 1899, Bermuda Online. Accessed 8 January 2023.
  4. ^ The last flowering of Bermuda shipbuilding, by Dr Edward Cecil Harris. The Royal Gazette, 4 August 2012.
  5. ^ ROYAL GARRISON ARTILLERY: Captain T. M. Dill, Bermuda Militia Artillery, to be temporary Major. Dated 30th March, 1916. The London Gazette. Publication date: 28 March 1916. Supplement: 29525. Page: 339.
  6. ^ BMA History, by Jennifer Hind, The Royal Gazette. Accessed 8 January 2023.
  7. ^ Bermuda's War Veterans, bermuda-online.org. Accessed 8 January 2023.
  8. ^ To be Officers of the Military Division of the said Most Excellent Order: Dill, T./Maj; Thomas Melville, B.M.A. and R.G.A. The London Gazette. Publication date, 5 June 1919. Issue: 13457. Page: 2002.
  9. ^ BERMUDA MILITIA ARTILLERY. Maj. T. M. Dill to be Comdt. 12th Nov. 1919. The London Gazette. Publication date: 2 September 1921. Supplement: 32445. Page: 703.
  10. ^ BERMUDA MILITIA ARTILLERY: Capt, T. M. Dill to be Maj. 12th Nov. 1919. The London Gazette. Publication date: 1 March 1921. Supplement: 32244. Page: 176
  11. ^ Jennifer Hind. POTSI: Commanders and Adjutants since formation of the BMA, geocities.ws. Accessed 8 January 2023.
  12. ^ The London Gazette (15 June 1928). Issue: 33394. Page: 4109 (erroneously named as D. M. Dill; corrected in issue of 17 July 1928).
  13. ^ a b c Lloyd Mayer, Colonel Tom Dill O.B.E.: Lawyer, Soldier & Statesman, The Bermuda Book Stores, Hamilton Bermuda. Robert MacLehose & Company Ltd, University of Glasgow Press. 1964.
  14. ^ Downing Street, 23rd April 1919. The KING has been pleased to give directions for the appointment of Major Thomas Melville Dill, Royal Artillery, to be an Unofficial Member of the Executive Council of the Bermudas or Somers Islands. The Edinburgh Gazette. Publication date: 29 April 1919. Issue: 13438. Page: 15
  15. ^ Conyers Dill & Pearman website, conyersdill.com. Accessed 18 December 2022.
  16. ^ Supplement to The London Gazette, January 1951.
  17. ^ "Sir Henry Tucker – one of the Island's two most important leaders of the 20th Century", royalgazette.com. Accessed 18 December 2022.
  18. ^ "Family tradition still going strong at law firm", royalgazette.com. Accessed 18 December 2022.
  19. ^ The Royal Gazette Archived 8 March 2012 at the Wayback Machine They made a difference – One hundred people who made a significant contribution with lasting effect on the affairs of Bermuda
  20. ^ The Bermudian: Bermuda and Hollywood. March 1946 Archived 11 May 2015 at the Wayback Machine
  21. ^ Diana Dill profile, bernews.com. Accessed 18 December 2022.
  22. ^ "Nicholas Dill becomes youngest Bishop of Bermuda", BermudaSun.bm. Accessed 18 December 2022.
  23. ^ Anglican communion Office. Provincial Directory: Bermuda, Anglican communion.org. Accessed 18 December 2022.
  24. ^ "Movie stars congratulate new Bermuda bishop", Anglicannews.org. 31 May 2013.
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