Thomas Melville Dill
Born	(1876-12-23)23 December 1876 Devonshire Parish, Bermuda
Died	7 March 1945(1945-03-07) (aged 68)
Buried	Devonshire Parish, Bermuda
Allegiance	United Kingdom Bermuda
Branch	British Army
Service years	1895–1928
Rank	Lieutenant-Colonel
Unit	Bermuda Contingent,Royal Garrison Artillery (Bermuda Militia Artillery)
Conflicts	First World War
Awards	Officer of the Order of the British Empire
Relations	Ruth Dill,Tommy Dill,Nicholas Bayard Dill,Francis Dill,Diana Dill,Michael Douglas,Joel Douglas,Mary Lea Johnson Richards,John Seward Johnson II,Diana Firestone

Lieutenant-ColonelThomas Melville DillOBE (23 December 1876 – 7 March 1945) was a prominentBermudian lawyer, politician, and soldier.

Dill was born in his parents' home, "Snug Corner", inDevonshire Parish, in the BritishImperial fortresscolony of Bermuda, the son of Mary Lea (née Smith) and Thomas Newbold Dill. The Dill family had been established in Bermuda in the 1630s. "Snug Corner" (now called "Seabright"), which had been built by Josiah Cox in 1755, had been inherited by Thomas Newbold Dill (related to the Cox family via his maternal grandmother Mary Smith, born Mary Newbold) along with other properties, and is close to "Newbold Place", where Thomas Newbold Dill's mother,^[1] Harriet Vaulk Dill (born Harriet Vaulk Smith) had been living with her widowed mother at the time of her marriage (the Newbold family had been established in Bermuda in the 17th Century, when James Newbold and Godheard Newbold were recorded there, and thrived in Southampton Parish and Devonshire Parish through the 18th Century. The name is scarce in Bermuda today,^[2] though many families, including theTalbot Brothers, descend from Newbolds).

Thomas Newbold Dill (1837–1910) was a merchant, aMember of the Colonial Parliament (MCP) for Devonshire Parish from 1868 to 1888, a Member of the Legislative Council and an Assistant Justice from 1888, Mayor of theCity of Hamilton from 1891 to 1897, served on numerous committees and boards, and was a member of the Devonshire Church (Church of England) and Devonshire Parish vestries (the latter is now termed aParish Council).

Thomas Melville Dill was named for his seafaring paternal grandfather, who had lost his master's certificate after the wreck of the Bermudian-builtCedrine on theIsle of Wight, which had been returning the last convict labourers from theRoyal Naval Dockyard in Bermuda to Britain in 1863.^[3][4][5][6]

Thomas Dill entered the fledgelingBermuda Volunteer Rifle Corps in 1895 as a rifleman, before transferring to theBermuda Militia Artillery, a reserve of theRoyal Regiment of Artillery, as a lieutenant. TheBritish Army maintained a largeBermuda Garrison of regular and part-time artillery and infantry units to guard theRoyal Naval Dockyard, and other strategic assets in theImperial fortress colony.

By 1914, then-Captain Dill was the Commandant, but he handed that position to a subordinate to lead the unit's First Contingent to theWestern Front, receiving a temporary regular commission as a Major.^[7]

Serving as part of the largerRoyal Garrison Artillery draft to the front, the Bermudian contingent was strongly praised by Field MarshalDouglas Haig.^[8][9]

After the war, Major Dill returned to Bermuda, resuming his command of the BMA.^[10][11] His substantive rank was still Captain until he was promoted to substantive Major in 1921, though dated 12 November 1919.^[12] He retired on 21 April 1928 with the honorary-rank of lieutenant-colonel (substantive rank of major).^[13][14]

In addition to his role as a military officer, Dill pursued a legal career, becoming Bermuda'sAttorney General.^[1]

He entered politics, and served as a Member of theColonial Parliament (MCP) forDevonshire parish from 1904 until 1938. He was also appointed to the Executive Council.^[15] He was an avid historian, whose articles were published in theBermuda Historical Quarterly.^{[citation needed]}

Dill married Ruth Rapalje Neilson (1880–1973) on 15 October 1900, residing at "Newbold Place" from 1905,^[1] and they had several children, some of whom followed him to positions of prominence in Bermuda or abroad. Their children were Ruth Rapalje Dill (1901–1986), Thomas Newbold Dill (1903–1970), SirNicholas Bayard Dill (known asBayard Dill) (1905–1993), Laurence Dill (1907–1984), Frances Rapalje Dill (1915–2009) andDiana Dill (1923–2015).

Bayard Dill was an officer in theBermuda Volunteer Engineers, a founding member of theConyers, Dill & Pearman law firm (that played an important role in Bermuda's development as an offshore business centre),^[16] and a prominent politician who was knighted in 1951. He also played a key role in negotiating the agreement with the US for its military and naval bases in Bermuda during theSecond World War.^{[17][18][19][20]}

Ruth Dill was married toJohn Seward Johnson I, heir to theJohnson & Johnson fortune. Their children includedMary Lea Johnson Richards,John Seward Johnson II, andDiana Firestone. Diana Dill moved to the US, becoming an actress. She was married to actorKirk Douglas, with whom she had two sons, actor and producerMichael Douglas,^[1][21][22] and producerJoel Douglas. His great grandson, theRight Reverend Nicholas Dill (of theAnglican Church of Bermuda), was installed as Bishop of Bermuda on 29 May 2013.^[23][24][25]

Dill died of a heart attack on 7 March 1945, following injuries sustained during a fall in February. He was eulogised on the front page ofThe Royal Gazette.^[1]

• Roots Web: Portrait T.M. Dill
• Review of Diana Dill's autobiography, "In The Wings"
• Barnes & Noble Excerpt from Diana Dill's autobiography, "In The Wings"
• POTSI (archived): BMA History by Jennifer Hind
• POTSI (archived): BMA Images
• Essay on Bermuda Militia Artillery, by Jennifer Hind, which makes frequent mention of TM Dill

• 1876 births
• 1945 deaths
• Dill family
• People from Devonshire Parish
• Bermudian soldiers
• British colonial army officers
• British Army personnel of World War I
• Military of Bermuda
• Royal Artillery officers
• Bermudian people of World War II
• British Militia officers
• Lieutenant colonels
• Members of the Parliament of Bermuda
• Officers of the Order of the British Empire

• Webarchive template wayback links
• Articles with short description
• Short description is different from Wikidata
• Use British English from June 2020
• All Wikipedia articles written in British English
• Use dmy dates from June 2020
• All articles with unsourced statements
• Articles with unsourced statements from January 2023