Roger Jeffrey Mills (3 March 1942 – 16 October 2020) was an English international badminton player and coach.
Biography Mills won nine English National titles; the singles three years running, 1965, 1966, and 1967, the doubles in 1967 and 1970 and the mixed doubles 1965, 1968, 1969 and 1971.
He won the 1969 All England Badminton Championships in mixed doubles with Gillian Perrin when this tournament was considered the sport's premier event (aside from the international team world championships, Thomas Cup and Uber Cup).
Mills competed for te England team in the 1966 British Empire and Commonwealth Games in Kingston, Jamaica, winning the gold medal, in the mixed doubles with Angela Bairstow and a bronze medal, in the men's doubles with David Horton.
Four years later he won a silver medal, in the mixed doubles with Perrin at the 1970 British Commonwealth Games in Edinburgh.
He represented Surrey and spent many of his years coaching in Surrey, most notably at Guildford University and at the Wimbledon Squash and Badminton Centre.
After his playing career, Roger continued his love of the sport of Badminton by becoming one of the leading coaches in the country where he took the position of Senior English National Coach before moving his focus to the development of youth badminton. In addition, Roger was the Part-Time Scottish National Coach in 1976 until 1980 where he provided new age coaching techniques to a generation of Scottish Badminton champions.
Mills' coaching and dedication to badminton resulted in the development of many champions at all ages and levels. Mills has written and published a number of books on badminton and is a 1974 Winston Churchill Fellowship.
All England Badminton Championships YearEventEventPartnerResult1969All England Badminton ChampionshipsMixed Doubles Gillian PerrinWinner1970All England Badminton ChampionshipsMixed DoublesGillian PerrinSemi-Finals
Commonwealth Games
YearEventPartnerResult1966Commonwealth GamesMixed DoublesAngela BairstowGold1966Commonwealth GamesMen's DoublesDavid HortonBronze
YearEventPartnerResult1970Commonwealth GamesMixed DoublesGillian Perrin. Silver
English National Badminton Championships YearTitleEventPartnerResult1965English Nationals Men's Singles n/aWinner1965English NationalsMixed DoublesMargaret BarrandWinner1966English Nationals. Men's Singlesn/aWinner1967English NationalsMen's Singlesn/aWinner1967English Nationals. Men's DoublesDavid HortonWinner1968English NationalsMixed DoublesGillian PerrinWinner1969English NationalsMixed DoublesGillian PerrinWinner1970English NationalsMen's DoublesTony JordanWinner Juniors YearTitleEventPartnerResult1958English National JuniorsMen's Singlesn/aWinner1958English National JuniorsMixed DoublesM. K. BishopWinner1959English National JuniorsMen's Singlesn/aWinner1959English National JuniorsMen's DoublesD. J. MintonWinner1959English National JuniorsMixed DoublesAngela BairstowWinner1960English National JuniorsMen's Singlesn/aWinner1960English National JuniorsMen's DoublesD. J. MintonWinner1960English National JuniorsMixed DoublesAngela BairstowWinner
Open Badminton Championships YearTitleEventPartnerResult1964Austrian Open. Mixed Doubles Michael RawlingsWinner1965Irish OpenMen's DoublesDavid HortonWinner1966Scottish OpenMen's DoublesDavid HortonWinner1967Irish OpenMen's DoublesDavid HortonWinner1967Irish OpenMixed DoublesIris RogersWinner1967Welsh OpenMen's Singlesn/aWinner1967Welsh OpenMen's DoublesRobert S. McCoigWinner1967Canadian OpenMen's DoublesColin BeacomWinner1967Canadian OpenMixed DoublesSharon WhitackerWinner1968Welsh OpenMen's Singlesn/aWinner1968Welsh OpenMixed SinglesJulie CharlesWinner1968Welsh OpenMen's DoublesJ. G. PearsonWinner1968European ChampionshipsMixed DoublesGillian PerrinRunner Up1968Swedish OpenMixed DoublesGillian GilksWinner1969Scottish OpenMixed DoublesSusan WhetnallWinner1970Scottish OpenMixed DoublesGillian GilksWinner1971Scottish OpenMixed DoublesGillian GilksWinner
Winston Churchill Fellow The Fellowship was established by public subscription in 1965 as the living legacy of Sir Winston Churchill. Its stated mission is to enable individuals to learn from international experiences for the benefit of the United Kingdom.
Roger was awarded the Winston Churchill Fellowship for his overseas research on Badminton in China. AwardYearCategoryAwardWinston Churchill Fellowship1974Adventure, Sport & ExplorationCoaching of badminton
Published books AuthorNamePublisherYearISBNRoger Mills & Eric ButlerModern BadmintonStanley Paul19661547628077MEPRoger MillsTackle BadmintonStanley Paul1974 Roger MillsTackle BadmintonHutchinson1977 Roger MillsBadmintonEP Sport1977 Roger MillsBadmintonSterling1980 Roger MillsPocket Guide To Badminton TacticsBell & Hyman1985
References