Daniel Ivor McMillan

June 29th, 2008 by JCB
Posted in Obituaries | No Comments »

Retired River Thames Pilot Dan McMillan died on 31st March 2008. Born in Portsmouth 24/9/1927, he wastaken back to the Gravesend area by his Mother in 1928, after the unfortunate death of his Father, and brought up in that same district. With its long history of shipping and the River Thames, it would seem to be a natural follow on that he chose a career at sea. Dan joined Messrs Watts Watts, an old established company of Tramp Ship Owners, in 1944 as an Apprentice, his first ship being the ss Beckenham, and spent 4 years with them putting in his time towards his first professional qualification, his 2nd Mates Certificate. During the time he spent at sea in the latter part of World War 2, he served in Atlantic Convoys, in the Mediterranean, and in the Far East. For this service he earned 4 Medals, Atlantic Star, Italy Star, Burma Star and India Service Medal. Thereafter, he worked his way up through the various Officer ranks, gaining his First
Mates Certificate, and then Master Foreign- Going in 1953, first of all with McAndrews and then with Comben Longstaff, where he was promoted Master, and held this position in several of their vessels until
1955, when he was appointed as a Trinity House River Thames Pilot. During his time as a Pilot, Dan became a
member of the River Pilots’ Committee, and eventually became Chairman. He was also a member of The London Pilotage Committee at Trinity House, and was known to strongly defend the position of all London
Pilots in general. During this time, he was an examiner of Masters & Mates who wished to acquire Pilotage Exemption Certificates. He was always a staunch supporter of the UKPA (now UKMPA), attended many conferences as a delegate, then became a member of the executive committee in 1970, elected Junior Vice-
Chairman in 1973, and this culminated in him becoming Chairman of the UKPA in 1978, which office he held until 1983. Afterwards, he was made an Honorary Vice-President of the UKMPA. During the late seventies and early eighties, Dan was appointed as a member of the Steering Committee on Pilotage (SCOP)
and then later as a member of the Advisory Committee on Pilotage (ACOP). Both of those committees were set up by the Government to look into the various aspects of pilotage, with a view towards the massive
changes which resulted in the Pilotage Act 1987 and the change over to port authorities in 1988. At this stage, he had to retire owing to ill-health, but in typical fashion, was involved in the negotiations
with the port right up to the final day under Trinity House. In 1993 he became a member of the Pilots’ National Committee for Pensions (PNCP) and was well known for his views and protection of the rights of
Pensioner Members. This committee was eventually thought to be unnecessary by the Section Committee approximately two years ago, and disbanded.
Apart from his sea-going and pilotage duties, Dan became a council member of Gravesend Borough Council in 1959, then an Alderman in 1964, then as Deputy Mayor in 1966/67 when his stepfather was Mayor, and finally as Mayor of the Borough in 1972. After his term in office as Mayor, he reverted to being a Councillor, and was very well respected in this office. The electorate in Gravesend, from his own ward in particular, but also from other parts of the town, knew that if they had a problem with any officials or office personnel from
the Council, a consultation with Dan usually resulted in a satisfactory conclusion. In recognition of his services to local people, and to the Churches’ Housing Association, he had a road named after him in the

Singlewell Ward of Gravesend. In 1991 the former Trinity House River Pilots formed a Society, which still functions today, albeit with very much reduced numbers, and Dan was appointed as Chairman at the inaugural meeting, a position he held until his untimely death.,Dan was always a supporter of charities,and did a lot of work for the local branch of, the Leukemia Research Fund in particular, where he was Chairman from its foundation in 1972 right up until his death. During his time in office, he helped raise over £1m for
the fund. He kept this side of his life very low profile, but his valuable assistance was appreciated by many. One of his last positions with a charity was as Chairman of the Gravesend Churches’ Housing Committee, but failing health caused him to resign from this post about 2 years ago. Dan was very proud of his Scottish
heritage, and traced his roots back to Scotland, the Isle of Arran in particular, which is the traditional home of the McMillan Clan. For many years, Dan, Mildred, four children, and the dog ,went to Arran for their Summer holidays and had many friends on that island. Their last visit there was in 2005 and I was pleased to
make the short journey from Edinburgh and meet them. There are many accolades which one can pay to former colleagues, and in this case, not enough, all I can say is that he was a great person to work with, always with the best interests of Pilots at heart, and I am very privileged that he was a personal friend too!
The funeral service was held at Christ Church, Gravesend, on 15th April, and,many friends from all the various aspects of Dan’s life were there to pay their last respects. Afterwards, there was a private family
committal at Medway Crematorium. Dan will be sadly missed by us all, and especially by his wife Mildred, sons David and Andrew, daughters Sally and Susan, and by the ten grandchildren.

Eric Eagle
Retired River Thames Pilot