Bill Millin was only 21 when he found himself one of the first commandos to leave the landing craft and wade on to Sword Beach as part of the D-Day landings. Under the command of the eccentric Lord Lovatt, he stepped ashore piping the stirring strains of the 'Highland Laddie'. He continued to play as his friends fell around him and later moved inland to pipe the troops to Pegasus Bridge. Such is Bill's fame that the former US President Ronald Regan spoke of him in his speech on 40th Anniversary of D-Day.
 | | Troops landing on the Normandy beaches |
Now living at a nursing home in Dawlish, Bill was nicknamed the Mad Piper for his astonishing bravery. Sixty-one years on, Bill is shy about his fame but he still remembers that eventful day. "I enjoyed playing the pipes, but I didn't notice I was being shot at. When you're young you do things you wouldn't dream of doing when you're older." Folk singer Sheelagh Allen from Bideford was so taken with 82-year-old Bill's story that she decided to write a song, 'The Highland Piper', about his selfless act. She was inspired by an article in a Devon County Council magazine promoting the BBC's People War project - which featured personal accounts of the time.
 | | Bill meets songwriter Sheelagh Allen |
"I thought it was such a wonderful story that I would have to right it down," said Sheelagh. "Sometimes it's poetry and sometimes it's a song. Fortunately this time a tune came out of my head which fitted in with the words." The council brought them together so Bill could hear a personal performance of the song. Bill's story has gone down in history and has been told in a book, has inspired paintings and now a song. His famous set of bagpipes are on display in the Pegasus Bridge Museum. | 
