War Memorial to Private James Miller VC

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).