As a young man, Milton Hill’s parents sent him to Rhodes Ratteray, a shipwright on Loyal Hill in Devonshire, to learn how to build boats. Mr. Ratteray would give his apprentices a block of wood to carve with straight carpenter chisels. Their task was to carve the wood, shape it and bring it back. Once they had mastered this technique, they were put to work on planking and laying keels, some of the many tasks involved in boat building.
As an adult, Milton utilised the skills he learned as an apprentice in many ways. He has built five dinghies during his lifetime and has also helped to refurbish many boats, wooden and fibreglass. One of the boats he is most proud of refurbishing was called The Guardian, constructed in the 1830s.
Today, he spends many hours fishing, and recently made headlines when his boat, Pretty Lady, capsised in rough water off Devonshire Bay. His friends now refer to him as “The Survivor”. He has also maintained an interest in carving. He used to make handmade cards, string art and carve model dinghies out of cedar as a hobby for friends and family. Then one day in 1989 his son, Wali said, ‘Dad, why do you keep giving this stuff away? We should sell them’. So, the Hills started selling Milton’s carvings at first through Jay Bluck’s stores and later in A.S. Coopers.
At first, they made replicas of Teaser, a Bermuda boat that had won many regattas in the 1800s. In his youth it was used as a work boat to haul onions from Port Royal in Southampton to Hamilton and would often be seen tied alongside at the Flagpole. Since he first started selling his carvings, he has probably sold 800 to 1,000 miniature dinghies and many other designs such as gombeys and cahows, to name but a few.
Milton has had many commissions. In 2011 he carved a Bermuda gombey for the Royal Wedding of Prince William and Kate and in 2006 he was commissioned to carve a cedar goblet for Princess Anne. He also carved a fitted dinghy for Spanish opera singer and member of The Three Tenors, Jose Carreras in 2003. However, the piece he is probably most proud of is a model Sea Venture, which was purchased by the Bermuda Historical Society in 2009. He has also participated in many art exhibitions. One of his most recent was in September with his Community & Cultural Affairs apprentice, Ami Zanders, at the Common Ground Café and at the Bermuda Society of Arts (BSOA). He has also done exhibitions with artists such as Frank Chiappa and internationally renowned marine artist Bermudian Stephen Card.
In his professional life has been a caregiver for 27 years. He has also been a sommelier/ bartender and taught bartending at Bermuda College. He also worked with children at the now defunct Ridgeway Home for Girls and the then Paget Island Correctional Facility for Boys.
He has six children: Tommy (Milton II), Roxanne, René, Wali, Eli and Aljelita, five grandchildren Aron, Joshua, Ananda and Johannes Hill and Renneka Carey, one great granddaughter, Daniella Emily Hill, and a set of twins.
