War Memorial to Private James Miller VC

Summary

An individual First World War memorial of 1917 to VC recipient Pte James Miller, with a wheelhead cross in white Cornish granite.

Reasons for Designation

The War Memorial to Pte James Miller VC, an individual First World War memorial of 1917, is listed at Grade II for the following principal reasons:

Historic interest:

* for the remarkable tale of individual bravery displayed by Pte Miller in the service of his comrades, which is recounted in the inscription and which was the subject of much popular attention at the time when it resulted in the award of a Victoria Cross, Britain’s highest military honour;

* as an eloquent witness to the tragic impact of world events on a local family, and representative of the sacrifice made by local communities in the conflicts of the C20.

Architectural interest:

* for its good-quality design in the form of a wheelhead Celtic cross, enhanced by carved decoration, good-quality lettering, and a bronze replica of the Victoria Cross medal, and by the boundary wall defining the extent of the ceremonial and contemplative space.

History

The aftermath of the First World War saw the biggest single wave of public commemoration ever with tens of thousands of memorials erected across England. This was the result of both the huge impact on communities of the loss of three quarters of a million British lives, and also the official policy of not repatriating the dead which meant that the memorials provided the main focus of the grief felt at this great loss. One such memorial was raised at Withnell as a permanent testament to the conspicuous sacrifice made by a member of the local community who gave his life in the First World War.

Private James Miller was born in 1890 near Hoghton (Lancs) and later worked in the paper mill at Withnell Fold. He enlisted at the outbreak of war, joining 7 Battalion the King’s Own Royal Lancaster Regiment, raised at Bowerham Barracks in September 1914.

During action on the Somme on 30 July 1916, Miller’s unit took enemy positions, but at such a cost in casualties that reinforcements were required if the gains were to be held. Miller was selected to deliver the request to the adjacent company. The London Gazette recorded, ‘His battalion was consolidating a position after its capture by assault. Private Miller was ordered to take an important message under heavy shell and rifle fire, and to bring back a reply at all costs. He was compelled to cross the open, and on leaving the trench was shot almost immediately in the back, the bullet coming through his abdomen. In spite of this, with heroic courage and self-sacrifice, he compressed the gaping wound in his abdomen, delivered his message, staggered back with his answer, and fell dead at the feet of the officer to whom he delivered it. He gave his life with a supreme devotion to duty’. Relief was indeed forthcoming, and Miller’s action almost certainly saved the lives of many of his comrades.

Pte Miller is buried in Dartmoor Cemetery near Becordel-Becourt, on the Somme (7km from the Thiepval memorial), France. His story attracted considerable attention, including being illustrated in some accounts, and he was pictured in a contemporary series of cigarette cards celebrating VC recipients of the Great War. In September 1916, Miller’s comrade Ellis Williams composed a poem entitled The Story Of The Message, which was sold to raise funds for the British Red Cross Association.

In 1917, this memorial, funded by public subscription, was erected at Miller’s family church, the unveiling of 14 July being attended by Lt Col Thorne of Miller’s regiment. Miller is also recorded on a family gravestone in the churchyard, along with his brothers Alex and George, who also died in action, in 1917 and 1918 (George had earlier attended the unveiling of this memorial).

The memorial was cleaned and restored in 1988, preserving the original lettering. The reference to burial at ‘Recondel’ is an original error, which was repeated in contemporary accounts of the unveiling, and which indicates the limited and confusing information available to families during the conflict. In 1989 members of the family visited Miller’s gravestone at Becordel-Becourt and photographed it with his VC, which was later donated to the regimental museum, in Lancaster. The museum also holds his shaving mirror and case, which were damaged by the fatal bullet.

Details

A First World War memorial of 1917.

MATERIALS: white Cornish granite plinth, shaft and cross with a bronze replica medal and lead lettering, bedded in large-aggregate concrete resembling granite.

PLAN: the memorial stands in the churchyard in a gap in the boundary hedge, facing westwards towards the road.

DESCRIPTION: the memorial comprises a base step surmounted by a plinth, shaft and wheelhead cross, and stands around 2m tall.

The cross has tapered arms decorated with interlace, and a central boss. The shaft tapers slightly and has bands of interlace at its head and foot, and a rounded border to each edge. At its head is a larger than lifesize bronze replica of the Victoria Cross. Below this is an inscription in painted lead-filled lettering, reading:

IN/ MEMORY/ OF/ PRIVATE/ JAMES/ MILLER/ V.C/ THE KING'S OWN/ (ROYAL LANCASTER/ REGIMENT)/ DIED FROM/ WOUNDS ON/ JULY 30TH 1916/ AGED 26 YEARS/ INTERRED AT/ RECONDEL [sic] FRANCE

The plinth is battered to all four sides, and rock-faced except for the front faces. The sloping front face bears raised lettering, reading:

STORY OF THE HEROIC DEED/ ORDERED TO TAKE AN IMPORTANT MESSAGE UNDER/ HEAVY FIRE AND TO BRING BACK A REPLY AT ALL COSTS,/ PRIVATE MILLER, WHILE CROSSING THE OPEN, WAS/ ALMOST IMMEDIATELY SHOT THROUGH THE BODY. IN SPITE/ OF THIS, WITH HEROIC COURAGE AND SELF-SACRIFICE HE/ STRUGGLED ON, DELIVERED THE MESSAGE, STAGGERED BACK/ WITH THE ANSWER, AND FELL AT THE FEET OF HIS OFFICER./ HE GAVE HIS LIFE WITH A SUPREME DEVOTION TO DUTY.

The vertical front face of the base of the plinth reads:

"GREATER LOVE HATH NO MAN THAN THIS,/ THAT A MAN LAY DOWN HIS LIFE FOR HIS FRIENDS"

The vertical face of the front of the base step reads:

ERECTED BY PUBLIC SUBSCRIPTION.

The rear face of the cross and shaft has identical carved decoration to the front face.

SUBSIDIARY ITEMS: in front of the memorial, the metre-high sandstone churchyard boundary wall ramps down for around a metre from either side, to around half a metre high, for a two-metre section directly in front of the memorial, to better display it. This four-metre section of wall is topped by a contemporary wrought-iron railing with square baluster posts, and rails with barley-twist centre sections (the finials to the posts are thought to date from 1988).

Sources

Websites
Imperial War Museums war memorial register entry, accessed 29/02/24 from https://www.iwm.org.uk/memorials/item/memorial/42367
War Memorials Online entry, accessed 29/02/24 from https://www.warmemorialsonline.org.uk/memorial/140063/
London Gazette record of the incident, accessed 29/02/24 from https://www.thegazette.co.uk/London/issue/29740/supplement/8871
Regimental Museum record, accessed 29/02/24 from http://www.kingsownmuseum.com/millervc.htm
War Memorials Online entry for the family gravestone at Withnell, accessed 29/02/24 from https://www.warmemorialsonline.org.uk/memorial/141074/

Other
'A Noble Example', Lancashire Evening Post (16 07 1917), p4

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