Duncan Grinnell-Milne was the second son of George Grinnell-Milne, a merchant banker, and Maria Caroline Mess who were married in The Hague in 1882.
15 Facts About Duncan Grinnell-Milne
1.
2.
Duncan Grinnell-Milne was educated at Cheam School and the University of Freiburg.
3.
Duncan Grinnell-Milne was promoted to lieutenant on 29 September 1915, and posted to No 16 Squadron RFC, where on 28 November, flying a BE.
4.
Duncan Grinnell-Milne was listed as "missing" on 2 December, eventually being reported a prisoner of war in early January 1916.
5.
Duncan Grinnell-Milne spent over two years as a prisoner of war before he finally escaped in April 1918, making his way from Germany to The Netherlands and was briefly interned before returning to England, where on 16 May he was presented to King George V at Buckingham Palace.
6.
In 1919 and 1920, Duncan Grinnell-Milne served with No 214 Squadron and No 14 Squadron in Egypt.
7.
Duncan Grinnell-Milne was appointed an acting-captain on 1 May 1919, and on 30 May his award of a bar to his Distinguished Flying Cross was gazetted.
8.
Duncan Grinnell-Milne returned to military service prior to World War II, being commissioned as a pilot officer in the Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve on 25 April 1939.
9.
Duncan Grinnell-Milne was appointed the British liaison officer to the Commander-in-Chief of the French Air Force Joseph Vuillemin, and equipped with portable radio transmitter, call-signs and codes.
10.
Duncan Grinnell-Milne drove to Bordeaux, then to GHQ French Air Forces at Agen.
11.
Duncan Grinnell-Milne found most of the senior staff officers were either resigned to their fate, obstructive, or openly hostile, though he noted that many of the younger officers and men were eager to leave for England.
12.
Duncan Grinnell-Milne was promoted to flying officer on 3 August 1941.
13.
Duncan Grinnell-Milne was invalided out of the RAF, retaining his rank of flying officer on 20 July 1944.
14.
Duncan Grinnell-Milne settled in London and became a professional writer, mainly of history and biography.
15.
Duncan Grinnell-Milne married Blanca de Undurraga y Sandiford, daughter of Don Julio de Undurraga, which ended in divorce, and he finally married Pauline Alice Margaret Lemieux, daughter of Dr Louis-Joseph Lemieux, on 26 May 1932.