33 - Douglas Mills (1923–2005): Scholar of Japanese at Cambridge University

Summary

DOUGLAS (OR DOUG, as he was known to his friends) Mills was another of the bright young linguists who were recruited to learn and then teach Japanese at the onset of war with Japan.

Douglas Edgar Mills was born in Walthamstow on 10 June 1923. He died 11 August 2005. He went up to Cambridge in January 1941 to read for the modern languages tripos in French and German. In June 1942 when he was due to be called up it was suggested that because of his flair for languages he should apply for the course in Japanese being organized at SOAS. He joined the Queen's Regiment in Norwich and after basic military training he joined the SOAS Course Translators IV in January 1943. Mills showed remarkable ability and his progress was so rapid that after three months he was promoted to Translators III. He completed the course in December 1943 and was selected to stay on as an instructor to teach elementary grammar. He built up a reputation as an expert in the classical literary style used in military documents.

While teaching others, he enrolled to continue his own studies and by 1945 had achieved first class honours in classical Japanese at SOAS. Demobilized in 1947 in the rank of Lieutenant, he briefly taught French and German at a grammar school before returning to SOAS as a Lecturer. He was to remain there until 1963, the year in which he submitted his PhD, a study and translation of the medieval tale collection Tales from Uji. He then moved to the United States, headhunted by the University of California at Berkeley, where he stayed for five years. His administrative abilities became clear and he was soon made Head of Department.

In 1968 Eric Ceadel, then one of the three university lecturers in Japanese studies at Cambridge, resigned his post to become University Librarian. Douglas was persuaded to return to Cambridge and take his place. He was pleased and honoured to be elected a fellow of Corpus Christi College and played an active part in College life as well as at Leckhampton Hall, its centre for postgraduate students. The companionship that the College gave helped him greatly after the loss of both his first wife and second wife, her sister.