A granite stone cross in the boundary wall of an otherwise ordinary English churchyard has been given listed status because of the “extraordinary” story it reveals of first world war heroism.
Most war memorials are dedicated to numbers of people, but the memorial at Saint Paul’s church in Withnell, Lancashire, is dedicated to just one.
It tells the story of Pte James Miller who was awarded the Victoria Cross after delivering a message at the Battle of the Somme and then returning with the reply – despite being shot in the back.
Miller died, but his actions saved the lives of others and were commemorated on cigarette cards celebrating the bravery of first world war Victoria Cross holders.
Crispin Edwards, a listing adviser for Historic England, said the memorial told the story of an “extraordinary act of heroism” which deserved to be better known.
Miller, a papermill worker, was born in Hoghton, Lancashire, in 1890 and enlisted at the outbreak of the first world war, joining the 7th Battalion, King’s Own Royal Lancaster Regiment in September 1914.
Two years later he was at the Somme, one of the bloodiest battles of the war. On 30 July 1916 Miller’s unit took enemy positions but at such a cost that reinforcements were needed to hold the ground they had gained.
In a story that has echoes of Sam Mendes’s film 1917, Miller was selected to deliver a message to an adjacent company and to bring back the reply “at all costs”.
A report in the London Gazette said: “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.”
The cigarette card shows an officer impassively reading the reply as Miller slumps at his feet, holding his wound.
“He does appear to be a rather unfeeling commanding officer,” said Edwards. “I suspect that was probably a bit unfair. These are what you might call Boys’ Own illustrations.”
As well as his VC and the cigarette card, a poem about Miller’s bravery was written in tribute by a fellow soldier, and in 1917 the memorial, funded by public subscription, was erected at Saint Paul’s, his family’s local church.
The memorial, which is now Grade II-listed, is made from white Cornish granite and stands 2 metres tall. Along with details of Miller’s deeds there is an inscription: “Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.”
Miller is also recorded on a family gravestone in the churchyard along with the names of his brothers Alex and George, who also died in action later in the war.
Edwards said there were thousands of war memorials across England but their appearance on the nation’s register of protected sites and buildings had been patchy until there was an effort to correct that during the first world war centenary years.
That 2014-2018 push resulted in more than 2,500 memorials being listed or upgraded. The Withnell memorial had slipped through the gaps until Edwards visited the church after it had applied for a certificate of immunity from listing.
“I just stumbled on it, basically, because the church had asked us to assess their property,” said Edwards. “All war memorials are moving and most are to the people of a place but this one is just for Pte Miller. The more I saw, the more I couldn’t believe it.”
The heritage minister, Chris Bryant, said Miller’s actions should not be forgotten: “As we draw closer to Remembrance Sunday, millions will rightly pause and reflect on the sacrifice made by courageous individuals like Pte Miller, who helped steer the course of our history.”
