Killick Millard

The founder of the Voluntary Euthanasia Legalisation Society (1935)
The Voluntary Euthanasia Legislation Society (VELS) undertook an unsuccessful movement to legalize euthanasia in Great Britain. Killick Millard (1870-1952), the founder of this organisation attempted to convince the British public that the legalization of voluntary euthanasia was necessary and would be beneficial to society (particularly those who were suffering from terminal illness). Some critics argue that VELS members also tended to be involved in the eugenics, birth control or belong to liberal religious groups, or they were physicians radicalized by the experience of watching patients die in protracted agony. Killick's motives ranged from murky to undeniably humane depending on which account one reads. However, it is clear that he strongly believed in the notion that people should have the choice of ending their lives if they are in severe and terminal pain (Dowbiggin, 2001)

Dowbiggin, I. 'A Prey on Normal People'- C. Killick Millard and the Euthanasia Movement in Great Britain 1930-1955', Journal of Contemporary History, Vol.36, No.1 (Jan. 2001),pp59-85