William Mills (inventor) William Mills (inventor) Sir William Mills (24 April 1856 - 1932) of Sunderland was an English engineer, who invented the Mills bomb which was developed and manufactured at his factory in Birmingham, England. The Mills bomb was the hand grenade most widely used by British and Imperial forces during the First World War. He was knighted in 1922. William Mills was born on 26 April 1856 in Wear Street, Southwick, Sunderland. He was the son of David Mills, a shipbuilder, and his wife Sarah Ann Kirkaldy. The Sunderland historian James Watson Corder recorded that David Mills had an interest in
Theatre in Birmingham company, members of the theatre company included Mike Leigh, Brian Blessed and Sir Tony Robinson. Birmingham Repertory Theatre, commonly known as "The Rep" and located next to the Library of Birmingham on Centenary Square, is one of Britain's leading producing theatres. It stages a wide range of performances in its three auditoria in Birmingham – "The House" with 825 seats, "The Studio" with 300 seats and "The Door" with 140 seats – as well as touring nationally and internationally and transferring productions to London's West End. The Rep regularly commissions new work and presented over 130 new plays during the