in
Pitt Street Mall,
Sydney Millner was born in
Sydney on 29 November 1919. His father Thomas George Millner was a
colonel in the
Australian Army and his mother Mary was the daughter of businessman
Lewy Pattinson. Millner grew up in
Cheltenham, New South Wales, and attended
Newington College before studying pharmacy at
The University of Sydney. At the breakout of
World War II Millner enlisted in the Army Service Corps Officer Training School and was posted to Malaya. When Singapore fell, he became a prisoner of war in
Changi Prison Singapore, then later
Sandakan,
Borneo. He was released at the cessation of hostilities in 1945, shipping out to
Morotai and then
Balikpapan. Jim Millner married Jean Claveranne in 1948. On his return, Millner completed a
Materia Medica (Pharmacy) course in 1947 at the
University of Sydney, and joined the family company,
Soul Patts, where he rose to be director in 1957. Millner was chairman of Soul Patts from 1969 to 1998, when he was succeeded by his nephew,
Robert Millner. ==Philanthropy and community==