b. 10/11/1831 Radway, Warwickshire. d. 17/02/1874 Cape Town, South Africa.
Frederick Miller (1831-1874) sadly, is a Victoria Cross recipient, of which very little is known. There is no known picture of him. He was born on 10th November 1831 in Radway, Warwickshire. He was educated at the Royal Military Academy, Woolwich, becoming a Cadet on the 28th January 1847. He was gazetted to the Royal Artillery as 1st Lieutenant on 19th December 1848 at the age of 17.
Miller VC Medal Group IWM
He served throughout the Crimean Campaign, and was present at the Battles of Alma and Balaklava, at the sortie of 26th October 1854 and the Siege of Sebastopol. He was mentioned in despatches, awarded the Crimean Medal with four clasps, Knight of Legion of Honour and the Order of the Medjidie.
On 5th November 1854, at the Battle of Inkerman, Miller personally attacked three Russians, and with the gunners of his division of the battery prevented the enemy from damaging the guns which they had surrounded. His Victoria Cross was not announced in the London Gazette until 6th May 1859.
He became a 2nd Captain in April 1855, Brevet Major in December 1855, Captain in 1861, Brevet Lieutenant Colonel in February 1867 and Regimental Lieutenant Colonel in August 1873. Miller died on 17th February 1874, aged just 43 in Cape Town, South Africa. He was originally buried in St Peter’s Cemetery in Cape Town. The grave is no longer there, and the remains were removed into the Ossuary Garden of Remembrance, Observatory, Cape Town. He is named on the Miller family grave in Radway, Warwickshire. His medals are part of the Lord Ashcroft Collection.
LOCATION OF MEDAL: LORD ASHCROFT COLLECTION.
BURIAL PLACE: OSSUARY GARDEN OF REMEMBRANCE, OBSERVATORY, CAPE TOWN, SOUTH AFRICA.
Acknowledgement:
Royal Artillery Museum – Image of the original grave of Frederick Miller VC.