Italian 69 Infantry Regiment hat badge : Lieutenant J R Millett, 2/11 Battalion

Places
Accession Number REL38261
Collection type Heraldry
Object type Badge
Physical description Brass
Maker Unknown
Place made Italy
Date made c 1939-1941
Conflict Second World War, 1939-1945
Description

Italian Army hat badge showing crossed rifles and '69' within a rope circle surmounted by a Savoy crown.

History / Summary

WX3383 Lieutenant John Robert 'Jack' Millett was born 19 February 1912, the son of Richard and Amelia Millett. He worked in a variety of jobs, including assembling cars for General Motors at Cottesloe, until the Great Depression caused the factory to close. He also worked in mining, and as a panel beater. In 1937 he joined the 11th Battalion (City of Perth Regiment), a militia unit. In 1938 he married Irene 'Rene' Cary and they had a son, Bob. Millett enlisted in the Second AIF on 17 July 1940 and was allocated to the 2/11th Battalion. He joined his unit in the Middle East and went into action for the first time at Bardia on 5 January 1941. As part of the Allied advance into Italian-occupied Libya, 2/11 Battalion subsequently fought at Tobruk on 21-22 January, and to secure Derna airfield on 25 January. It was advancing to the south of Benghazi when the Italians surrendered on 7 February. This badge was collected by Lieutenant Jack Millett from Italian prisoners captured at Bardia and Tobruk when he was given the job of arranging their escort behind the lines. The badge was sent home for his son, Bob, before he moved to Greece with his unit, arriving near Athens around 13 April. They travelled to Larissa by cattle truck, and then on to defensive positions at Kalabaka. There they held the position while troops evacuated the area. The battalion then destroyed tunnels and bridges in the area. One was done too soon and the troops had to be withdrawn over pontoons. They then fell back to Bayliss. From there the battalion moved forward 15 miles to hold a defensive position while more troops were evacuated. They then fell back and evacuated Greece by sea on 25 April 1941. Landing on Crete the next day, ,2/11 Battalion together with 2/1 Battalion helped defend the Retimo Airfield on the north of the island. German paratroopers landed at Crete on 20 May. The Allies began evacuating Crete on 28 May, but not all troops could be evacuated. Retimo Airfield was held for ten days before the 2/11th and 2/1st Battalions were forced to surrender on 30 May. Millett was taken prisoner. He was taken in a Junkers 52 aircraft to Athens, then taken by train and on foot through Greece to Salonika, where he spent three weeks. Millett organised an escape attempt with another prisoner, Fred Roberts. They decided against the attempt when some Cypriots attacking the wire were shot dead. They were then taken through Austria to the camp at Oflag XC at Lubeck. From here Millett was eventually transferred to Oflag VIB at Warburg. At Warburg Millett was caught trying to dig a tunnel out of the camp from his hut with another prisoner. He was transferred to Oflag VIIB at Eichstatt in Bavaria. Here he began producing maps for escaping prisoners. He also took part in digging the tunnel that was used in the first mass escape of prisoners during the Second World War. On 3 June 1943 65 men escaped Oflag VIIB through the tunnel, including Millett, who was on the run for five days before he was recaptured. In response to this escape attempt he was transferred to Oflag IVC at Colditz Castle. This was the camp for the 'incorrigibles', those who had continually attempted to escape, and the 'prominente' (people with prominent connections who could be used as hostages). Colditz Castle is situated on the side of a cliff, surrounded by a dry moat and was thought to be escape proof. However incarcerating so many keen escapers together led to a number of escape attempts, some of which were successful. In response to this the guard was much larger at Colditz than at any other camp - with the guards outnumbering the prisoners. At Colditz Millett continued his escape committee career, becoming the map maker. Oflag IVC was liberated in April 1945 and Millett eventually made his way home. After the war Jack and Rene had another son named Barry, and Jack worked in a number of metal trades. Jack Millett died on 1 December 1999, aged 87.