Sadly, the mill world has lost
two men of note and we offer sincere condolences
to their families.
The former owner and miller at
Sheet Bridge Mill, David Ellis,
died on 30th
November, 2010. Born into the well known
milling family, which owned mills in Hampshire
and Sussex, in 1926, David worked at Sheet
Bridge Mill near Petersfield with his brother
Clive, producing animal feed. After the mill
was sold the two brothers became partners in a
successful property development business.
David lived in another family owned mill, Liss.
He is survived by his widow, Dorothy and cousins
Richard and Jason Ellis of Headley Mill.
The Editor is grateful for a
wealth of information given by David Ellis’
sister, Sybil, and John Lovell, which will be
incorporated into a feature article on the Ellis
family and their empire of mills in a future
newsletter.
In
January the sails of the
de Zwaan Windmill
were set in traditional mourning position
marking the death of
Jan Diederik “Diek” Medendorp
at the age of 89. He was a third
generation miller and millwright in the
Netherlands and became renowned for organising,
in 1964, the dismantling and transportation of
the de Zwaan windmill from Holland in the
Netherlands to Holland, Michigan, U.S.A, where
it is still worked today.
Diek
dismantling the deZwaan Mill.
