Memorial details

Memorial type
Cross
District
Chorley
Town
Withnell
County
Lancashire
Country
England
Commemoration
First World War (1914-1918), VC or GC Recipients
Ceremony
  • Unveiled
    Date: 14th July 1917
    Attended by: Lt. Col. Thorne of The King's Own Regiment
Lost
Not lost
WM Reference
42367

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Current location

St. Paul's Church
Bury Lane
Withnell
Chorley
Lancashire
PR6 8SD
England

OS Grid Ref: SD 63148 22447
Denomination: Church of England

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Description
Base surmounted by tapering plinth, shaft and Celtic cross. Inscription in raised lettering on the front face of the shaft and plinth Celtic knot work design on the face of the cross. Metal VC at the top of the inscription
Inscription
IN/ MEMORY/ OF/ PRIVATE/ JAMES/ MILLER/ V.C./ THE KING'S OWN/ ROYAL LANCASHIRE/ REGIMENT/ DIED FROM/ WOUNDS ON/ JULY 30TH 1916/ AGED 26 YEARS/ INTERRED AT/ RECORDEL, FRANCE/ 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 IMMEDIATLEY SHOT THROUGH THE BODY. IN SPITE/ OF THIS, WITH HEROIC COURAGE AND SELF-SACRIFICE HE/ STRUGGLED ON, DELIVERED HIS MESSAGE, STAGGERED BACK/ WITH THE ANSWER, AND FELL AT THE FEET OF HIS OFFICER./ HE GAVE HIS LIFE WITH A SUPREME DEVOTION TO DUTY./ "GREATER LOVE HATH NO MAN THAN THIS,/ THAT A MAN LAY DOWN HIS LIFE FOR HIS FRIENDS"/ ERECTED BY PUBLIC SUBSCRIPTION
Inscription legible?
yes
Names on memorial
Miller, James
See details
Commemorations
  • First World War (1914-1918)
    Total names on memorial: 1
    Served and returned: 0
    Died: 1
    Exact count: yes
    Information shown: Rank, surname, date of death, regiment, place of death, forename, place of burial, manner of death, age of death, additional, decorations
    Order of information: Undefined
  • VC or GC Recipients
    Total names on memorial: 1
    Served and returned: 0
    Died: 1
    Exact count: yes
    Information shown: Rank, surname, date of death, regiment, place of death, forename, place of burial, manner of death, age of death, additional, decorations
    Order of information: Undefined
Components
  • Cross
    Measurements: depth 500MM, height C 4000MM, width 500MM
    Materials: Stone
Listing information
Condition
History
1988: RESTORED
Trust fund/Scholarship
No
Purpose: Unknown or N/A
Sponsorship
Public

This record comprises all information held by IWM’s War Memorials Register for this memorial. Where we hold a names list for the memorial, this information will be displayed on the memorial record. Please check back as we are adding more names to the database.

This information is made available under a Creative Commons BY-NC licence.

This means you may reuse it for non-commercial purposes only and must attribute it to us using the following statement:

© WMR-42367

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