Armed Forces Day in Teignmouth

The Royal British Legion in Teignmouth work hard to raise funds for the welfare and support of veterans of past and present conflicts. Armed Forces Day in Teignmouth was a day when the town turned out in force to celebrate and commemorate shared memories of personal bravery and sad loss when parts of the town received a direct hit from enemy aircraft. Two special presentations were made. One to a member of the French Resistance, Ferndnand Davoult, whose couragous actions saved the lives of many servicemen trapped in occupied France. The other was to our own local hero Piper Bill Millin, who on D-Day, armed with nothing but a set of bagpipes and Scots determination, marched along the beach in Normandy playing his pipes encouraging our troops forward in the face of ferocious enemy firepower. The German forces manning the guns thought he was raving mad but respected his courage. Bill's actions on that day are immortalised in the film Saving Private Ryan. The picture shows Bill receiving his Town Plaque from Lord Clifford of Chudleigh in his capacity as Honorary Colonel, Royal Devon Yeomanry.