Donald Gordon McMillan was born May 22, 1893 in Dunedin, on the south island of New Zealand. Known as Gordon to his family, he was one of five children born to Scottish parents. Prior to entering the service he lived in Wellington where he worked as a civil servant.
Following the events of the summer of 1914 Britain entered the war on August 5th and just three days later McMillan enlisted as a Private in “D” Battery of the New Zealand Field Artillery. One week later he departed Wellington as a member of the Samoan Expeditionary Force (S.E.F.). The objective of this force was to seize German Samoa. The purpose was twofold; to capture a strategic radio station on the island and deny the German Navy’s East Asia Squadron the use of Apia Harbor.
The Expeditionary Force of 1400 men traveled at some peril. Two German heavy cruisers were known to be in the South Pacific but their exact location was unknown. The transports and their lightly armed escorts would have fallen easy prey to the heavy German guns if the convoy had encountered the two enemy warships. Fortunately the two week voyage was uneventful and on August 29 the S.E.F. seized Apia without resistance, the German’s having only a small native constabulary force on the island.
Two weeks later the German cruisers, Scharnhorst and Gneisenau, entered Apia harbor but determined that a landing would only be of temporary advantage in an Allied dominated sea and departed without an exchange of gunfire. A week later these same ships bombarded the French port of Papeete in Tahiti, doing great destruction. A fear of causing harm to German civilians and property probably saved Apia from a similar fate. However “D” Battery had manned its guns and was prepared to respond if the Germans had opened fire.
In March, 1915, with German naval forces in the Pacific eliminated, the original S.E.F. was replaced by a smaller force and McMillan returned to New Zealand with his unit. The capture of Samoa represented New Zealand's first military action in the World War.
McMillan’s time at home was brief and in mid June he again departed Wellington (not knowing that he would never return), this time as a member of the 6th (Howitzer) Battery, bound for Egypt. After several months of training at Alexandria, the 6th Battery landed on the shores of Gallipoli in mid October of 1915. The battery provided valuable artillery support for the next two months before the entire ANZAC force was evacuated to Egypt in mid December. Below - A New Zealand 4.5-inch howitzer in action at Anzac, 1915.
Following many months of additional training and reorganization, the newly formed New Zealand Division arrived in France in April, 1916. The unit was kept in reserve during the first phase of the battle of the Somme but eventually entered the fight in mid September. Over the course of the next six weeks the N.Z. artillery fired 500,000 shells in support of a major offensive by the infantry. Through a series of attacks, supported by trench bombardments and rolling barrages, the Germans were pushed back several miles. These attacks included the first use of poison gas by gunners of the N.Z. howitzer batteries. While the offensive was a success, it came at a high price; the artillery alone suffered over 500 casualties. The remainder of 1916 was spent “holding the line” or in reserve behind the lines.
In early 1917 the British began preparing for a series of battles which collectively would be known as the Battle of Messines and the Third Battle of Ypres, set to commence in early June. However, McMillan, now a sergeant, would miss these battles, for, in late May he was sent to England for officer training.
After five months at cadet school McMillan was commissioned a Second Lieutenant in the New Zealand Field Artillery. He was initially assigned to a reserved depot in France but was posted to the 5th Battery in mid March, 1918. This coincided with the German Spring Offensive and his unit was constantly in combat. After one month of intense fighting McMillan’s luck ran out and he was wounded in action on April 18th.
Howitzer batteries in action in France, 1918.
After several months of convalescence in England, McMillan was posted to the 6th Battery in mid August. This was just after the start of the Allied Hundred Days Offensive, which eventually broke the back of the German Army and lead to the end of the war. It was for an action during this offensive that McMillan was awarded the Military Cross.
McMillan’s citation, announced in the London Gazette on 2 April 1919, reads; “On the 27th September, 1918 near Moeuvres, he went forward as brigade forward observation officer. Finding the infantry held up by machine gun fire on the bank of the Canal du Nord, he gallantly organized sniping parties with Lewis guns and rifles, and with his own signalers did excellent work, shooting eight of the enemy, including several machine gunners working the guns. Afterwards he pressed forward under heavy machine gun fire and sent back valuable information to the brigade. He has consistently done good work throughout the last month’s fighting.” It is one of only 530 Military Crosses that were awarded to New Zealand officers for heroism during World War One.
Unfortunately Lt. McMillan would not live to see peace and a return to home. On September 28, 1918, during the Battle of the Canal du Nord, McMillan and 2nd Lt. A.C. Cameron went forward to reconnoiter a bridge lock. While in a wood that was supposedly cleared of the enemy they were attacked from behind by 20 German soldiers. Armed only with revolvers, they fought until Lt. McMillan was killed and Lt. Cameron, badly wounded, managed to escape.
Lt. McMillan was eventually buried in a private plot, purchased by his father, in the Porte de Paris Cemetery near Cambrai, where he rests to this day. (The original French deed for the plot is preserved with his other effects.)
McMillan’s Military Cross was presented to his father by the Governor General of New Zealand at an investiture in Wellington in July of 1921. His other medals and memorial plaque were sent to his father several months later.
Click on the thumbnail in the gallery below to enlarge the image. All military service documents were downloaded from the New Zealand National Archives web site.
The current caretaker of Lt. McMillan's medals, standing in front of 47 Roy Street, Wellington, the address printed on the bottom of the case for the Military Cross.