James Miller (1904 - 1942)

Ancestors

Contents 1 Biography 1.1 Formative years, and his own young family 1.2 Second World War 1.3 A battalion of his own 1.4 Aftermath 2 Sources 2.1 Further reading 2.2 Acknowledgements

Biography

Captain Jim Miller, Summer 1940 in Egypt

Formative years, and his own young family

James 'Jim' Miller was born on 17th April 1904 in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. ^[1] He was the eldest son of Victorian-born William Miller, of Scottish and Cornish heritage, and English-born Mary Ann Ross. ^[2] The places of birth registration of Jim's younger brothers were the inner western suburb of Leichhardt (1906) and Sydney (1910). The young family appears to have made their home soon after in Gladesville, the location on enlistment by his two younger, still single, brothers, being that suburb.

Jim married Sarah 'Sadie' Bennett in 1927 in nearby Ryde. ^[3][1] The couple made their home in Gladesville, there raising their family of three children:

1. Kenneth (1927-)
2. Margaret Anne (1932-)
3. James Ross (1936-)

Jim obtained employment as an attendant at the Callan Park Mental Hospital, in Lilyfield; crossing the Parramatta River daily on the original two-lane steel lattice truss girder bridge with swing span Gladesville Bridge between home and work.

Second World War

On 25th October 1939, within weeks of the declaration of war, Jim was commissioned as a Lieutenant in the Second Australian Imperial Force; his nation's all-volunteer expeditionary force for the Second World War. He was allocated to the 2/1st Infantry Battalion, the senior unit in the newly-created 16th Brigade, 6th Division; under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Ken Eather. ^[1] After training at the freshly-built camp at Ingleburn, in Greater Sydney's south-west, the battalion embarked for overseas duty on 10th January 1940 aboard HMT Orford U5, as part of the armada carrying Australia's 6th Division. Training in tropical and desert warfare then followed in both Palestine (Israel) and Egypt for the remainder of the year. Jim is absent from a photograph taken in mid-1940 at Julis (north-west of Haifa and Mount Carmel in Israel) of the officers of the 2/1st Battalion, most likely detached on a training course.

Promoted to Captain, Jim commanded A Company in the battalion's first action, capturing Bardia and Tobruk in Libya. During the attack on Bardia on 3rd January 1941 Jim, together with no more than fifteen or sixteen soldiers of his headquarters and platoons, became separated from the remainder of his company. Undeterred, he led his small group to capture some sixty Italian troops after coming under heavy fire and assaulting the enemy position. ^[4] He was briefly detached to the 2/16th Battalion in February, rejoining the battalion in time to be deployed to Greece in March. With Eather hospitalised with pneumonia, the battalion received a new commanding officer in Ian Campbell. After the debacle of Greece (overwhelmed by the German paratroopers and the Greek government's capitulation), and then Crete (the campaign making Jim an ANZAC), Jim managed to find his way back to Palestine (Israel) and was appointed Second-in-Command of the battalion on promotion to Major – with Campbell becoming a POW of the Germans in Crete, Eather resumed command of the battalion until the end of the year. Jim continued in this role through Syria and Ceylon (Sri Lanka), – Lieutenant Colonel Tom White as commanding officer briefly before the appointment of the decorated Lieutenant Colonel Paul Cullen, a Jewish-Australian who had changed his name from Cohen in case of capture by the Germans – the unit's ever-so-brief return to Australia and through the worst of the Kokoda Trail Campaign.

Major Jim Miller, Winter 1941 in Israel

Deploying to Papua in August, the 2/1st Battalion stepped onto the Kokoda Trail on 28th September 1942. The necessarily slow progress along the Track – caused by the terrain, but more so the fanatical 'withdrawal' of the numerically superior Japanese forces – saw the battalion at Ower's Corner (2nd October), Uberi (6th), Imita Ridge and Ioribaiwa (7th), Nauro (8th), Menari (11th), Brigade Hill, Mission Ridge and Efogi (14th) and Myola (15th), before being central in the action around Templeton's Crossing and Eora Creek (19-28th October). ^[5] The Paul Cullen-Jim Miller command combination appears to have been a significant factor in the battalion's successful campaign. ^[6]

A battalion of his own

On 1st November, the 2/31st Infantry Battalion, 7th Division, became the first battalion to re-enter the stategic village of Kokoda. The following day Jim was promoted to Lieutenant Colonel and appointed commanding officer of the 2/31st. His new battalion played a key role in smashing the last Japanese defensive position on the trail at Gorari between 7th and 11th November. The 2/31st was then briefly involved in the operations at Gona between 23rd November and 4th December. ^[7]

On 14th December 1942, barely six weeks after being appointed commanding officer, Jim died as a result of scrub typhus (more soldiers died of tropical illness in that campaign than were killed in action!). He was then aged 38 years. His remains are now interred in the Bomana War Cemetery, Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea. James Miller's name is located at panel 59 in the Commemorative Area at the Australian War Memorial, Canberra. ^[8]

It appears that it was Jim's death that caused the 'powers-that-be' to recognise that the casualties from combat and disease had made the battalion ineffective. On the day following Jim's death the 2/31st was withdrawn to Port Moresby (and, ultimately, Australia); only 55 men were fit for duty! Jim's death, whilst tragic, probably saved the lives of those 55 soldiers.

Aftermath

The Australian War Memorial holds a collection of three letters written by Jim home to his family. The first is a colour photocopy of a letter (with illustration), written from Palestine and dated May 1940, addressed to his infant son James. The second is an original twelve page letter, written in two separate installments to save on postage costs, written from Palestine and dated May 1941, addressed to his young son Ken. It gives a detailed account of his movements from his evacuation from Greece in the April until his arrival in Crete in May. The third letter is an original three page letter, written from Papua and dated November 1942, to his wife. It discusses his promotions from Captain to Lieutenant Colonel, his health and a previous commanding officer. ^[9]

In recognition of his distinguished service, Jim received a posthumous Mention in Despatches, equivalent to today's Commendation for Gallantry; gazetted in both London and Canberra on 23rd December 1943. ^[10]

Following the war, Sadie was issued Jim's campaign and service medals:

• 1939-1945 Star – for his more than six months operational service in Palestine, Syria, and Ceylon, and the Greece campaign.
• Africa Star – for his operational service in Egypt and the Libya campaign.
• Pacific Star – for his operational service in the Owen Stanley (Papua) campaign.
• War Medal 1939-1945 – (instituted by the British government) for his military service (both operational and non-operational) during the Second World War.
• on the ribbon of the War Medal is a Palm Leaf Clasp – indicating the awarding of the Mention in Despatches.
• Australia Service Medal 1939-1945 – (instituted by the Australian government in 1949) to recognise the operational and non-operational service of soldiers during the Second World War – this is the first medal ever produced by the Australian government.

Both of Jim's younger brothers, William and George, served during the war as enlisted men, both returning home at the end of the war.

Sources

1. ↑ ^{1.0 1.1 1.2} Department of Veterans' Affairs nominal roll: NX124 Lieutenant Colonel James Miller; accessed 2 Jul 2021
2. ↑ New South Wales Birth Index #26457/1916; why 1916 is not presently understood
3. ↑ New South Wales Marriage Index #3517/1927
4. ↑ Smith, Graham J. The Making of Warriors: The Story of the 2/1st Australian Infantry Battalion The City of Sydney Regiment 1939-1942, pp53-55. Rosenberg, Dural NSW, 2020. ISBN 978-0-6484-4666-8
5. ↑ [https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Space:Second_First_Australian_Infantry_Battalion 2/1st Infantry Battalion
6. ↑ observation by Ken Evans
7. ↑ 2/31st Infantry Battalion
8. ↑ Australian War Memorial roll of honour: NX124 Lieutenant Colonel James Miller; accessed 12 Nov 2023
9. ↑ Australian War Memorial collections: Miller, James (Lieutenant Colonel, b.1904 - d.1942); accessed 12 Nov 2023
10. ↑ Australian War Memorial honours and awrds: Mentioned in Despatches; access 12 Nov 2023

Further reading

• Givney, Edwin C. The First at War: The Story of the 2/1st Australian Infantry Battalion 1939-45. The Association of First Infantry Battalions. Earlwood, 1987. ISBN 1 86252 965 5.
• Coulthard-Clark, Chris. The Encyclopaedia of Australia’s Battles. Allen & Unwin, Crows Nest, NSW, 3rd ed 2001. ISBN 1-86508-634-7.
• Laffin, J. Forever Forward: The History of the 2/31st Australian Infantry Battalion, 2nd AIF 1940-45. 2/31st Australian Infantry Battalion Association (New South Wales Branch), Sydney, 1994.
• Smith, Graham J. The Making of Warriors: The Story of the 2/1st Australian Infantry Battalion The City of Sydney Regiment 1939-1942. Rosenberg, Dural NSW, 2020. ISBN 978-0-6484-4666-8.

Acknowledgements

Thank you to Anne Drayton, Jim's granddaughter, who has provided sources and first-hand information, as well as encouraged Ken Evans, whose father served in the 2/1st under Jim.