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JACK HUMPHREY MILLER

 

1900    Tennis tournament at Grange. The annual tournament of the North Lonsdale Tennis Club was held on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday … Participants: E.C.Miller and J.H.Miller. Playing together they lost in the finals of the men's doubles.[1]  

1905    The Grange Cricket Club passed through a right busy season, … The highest score ever made on the home ground was achieved by Mr J.H.Miller, who piled up 90 against Lancaster "A" in a style worth looking at. [11] J.H.Miller topped the year's batting averages with 36.25 [12]

 

1909    Recommended for Fellowship of the Zoological Society of London.

 

1910    Exploration in north-west Mongolia. The party, consisting of Mr M.P.Price, Mr J.H.Miller, and myself, started in May, 1910, from the Siberian lowlands in the neighbourhood of Minnusinsk, and passed over the Syansk ranges into the secluded basin formed by these mountains, together with the Tannu-ola range, and drained by the numerous headwaters of the Yenisei river. … Mr J.H.Miller investigated the occurrence and conditions of the reindeer in these regions, … The expedition reached Kulja on November 14th. … Mr Price returns to England from here, whilst Mr Miller and myself will go eastwards. Our objective will be the Barkul-Hami group of mountains where geographical and zoological investigations will be carried on … Our work will then take us eastwards to the Aty-bogdo, of Kozloff, in the western part of the Gobi and further eastwards, if time permits. [2]  

J.H.Miller was one of the members of an expedition led by Douglas Carruthers to explore western Mongolia and the surrounding Russian region in 1910. This expedition explored the heart of the Altai argali range. The results of this expedition were published in Douglas Carruthers' classic book, Unknown Mongolia (1913). The three chapters on hunting were written by J.H.Miller who devoted one chapter to sport on the Altai highlands.

The Carruthers-Miller expedition proceeded to Dzungaria in the Tian Shan Mountains after their sojourn in Mongolia. … Miller continued his pursuit of wild sheep … J.H.Miller's chapter from Unknown Mongolia on sport on the highlands of the Tian Shan is the best account of hunting Tian Shan argalis. [3]

 

1911    Mr J.H.Miller, son of Mrs W.Pitt Miller, of Merlewood, reached home shortly before Christmas, after having been absent from England for some eighteen months on an expedition in Central Asia. Mr Miller appears to have had some thrilling experiences in his travels through tracts of country little known to white men, and obtained many specimens of animals extant in these regions. It may be Mr Miller will presently treat the residents of this neighbourhood to a lecture on his adventures. [13]

1912    Mr J.H.Miller elected captain of Grange Golf Club. [14]

The members of the local branch of the C.E.M.S. have passed a pleasant and encouraging year… Several lectures have been given and meetings held at intervals during the year. These included a visit to Merlewood to view the interesting specimens collected by Mr J.H.Miller during his recent exploration tour in Central Asia, the members at the same time being asked to partake of Mrs Pitt Miller's hospitality. [15]

 

1914    On [8 August 1914] the 3rd Battalion [LNLR (Special Reserve)] was mobilized and dispatched at once to its war station, Felixstowe, where it arrived early on the morning of the 9th … the following officers accompanied …Captains … E.C.Miller … Lieutenants …J.H.Miller. [4]

On [9 September 1914] Lieutenant J.H.Miller joined with a draft of eighty men. [5]

While at Pargnan, however, the Battalion was twice called out in support of other portions of the line, and on 23rd [September 1914] Lieutenant J.H.Miller and thirteen men were wounded by shrapnel fire. [6]  

Funeral of Private Charles Keith, killed while guarding the railway line near Slough … The Grange Boy Scouts … marched on one side of the cortege, and the Lindale Boy Scouts, under Lieutenant J.H.Miller, on the other … [7]  

At an illustrated lecture promoted at Grange by the Church of England Men's Society on Thursday evening last week … Captain [sic] Miller, of Grange, though not quite restored but well on the way, was with them that night - (applause) - and he [Colonel Weston] was sure he voiced the feelings of all present in expressing admiration of his gallantry and wishes for his success on returning to the front … [8]  

1915    Capt J.H.Miller, 3rd Loyal N. Lancashires, who, when attached to the 1st Batt., was seveely wounded last year on the Aisne, is now attached to the Egyptian Army, and has been appointed Inspector of the district of Kajo Kaji, part of the Soudan province of Mongalla. [16]

1917    MILLER, Capt. J.H. Mrs. W. Pitt Miller, of Merlewood, has been informed that her youngest son, Capt. Jack Humphrey Miller, died in hospital in Alexandria, on Saturday, from blackwater fever. Capt. Miller was a fine type of soldier. When the war broke out he had just returned from Manchuria, where he formed one of a party of explorers. He was in possession of a splendid series of photographs obtained in districts previously unknown, and of many trophies. He promptly joined the colours at the outbreak of hostilities, obtained a commission, and volunteered for service in France, where, on the Aisne, he was wounded, a bullet passing through his shoulder. He was one of the first wounded men to return in the Grange district. On his recovery he was given a district command in the Soudan, and it is understood that at the time of his death he was enjoying a furlough. He was 32. In Lindale he was responsible for the formation of the troop of Boy Scouts, and as Scoutmaster the troop held him in the highest regard. He took the keenest interest in any movement which was for the benefit of the youth of the village. He was also a prominent supporter of the Grange Rifle Club. His brother, Capt. E.C. Miller, was killed at Ypres early in the war, whilst his eldest brother, Capt. W.G.P. Miller, died as a result of ptomaine poisoning some years ago whilst in camp at Blackpool. [9]

 

1917    Captain J. H. Miller. We regret to record the death of Captain J. H. Miller from blackwater fever in Alexandria. Although Captain Miller was only thirty‑four years of age, he had had very considerable experience in many parts of the world, for since 1905 he had been travelling almost continually. His main object was the search for big game, yet he did much besides; he was a keen observer and collected many specimens for scientific institutions. After a summer spent in Iceland he joined Mr. Douglas Carruthers in Syria in 1905 and made large collections of birds and mammals in the Syrian desert and at Petra. In 1906 he was hunting in the interior of Asia Minor. In 1908 he travelled across Siberia and Turkestan, hunting in the Altai and the Tian Shan Mountains. In 1910‑11, in company with Messrs. Carruthers and Price, he took part in an expedition, extending over twenty months, in Mongolia and Turkestan. He collected many interesting zoological specimens on this journey, and formed a remarkable collection of the big game of Central Asia. In 1913 he visited the Red Sea Province, and in the winter of 1913‑14 he was hunting with Mr. P. H. Thomas in Southern Abyssinia on the Somali borderlands. His collection included many notable trophies, and he was considered a very fine shot. One of the original Expeditionary Force in France, he was wounded in the battle of the Marne. On recovery he was attached to the Egyptian army, and was in charge at Kajo Kaji, in the Mongolia Province. Even here, in spite of heavy duties, he started to work on the ornithology of the surrounding country, and made great plans for the future. While on leave in Alexandria he suddenly developed blackwater fever and died on August 26.[10]  


[1] Westmorland Gazette, 11 August 1900, p.5; 18 August 1900, p.6

[2] Carruthers, D. 1911. Exploration in north-west Mongolia. Geographical Journal, 37, 165-170.

[3] Valdez, R. 1983. Wild sheep and wild sheep hunters of the Old World. pp 116-126 & 153-160.

[4] Wylly, H.C. 1933. The Loyal North Lancashire Regiment. Vol.II 1914-1919, p.155

[5] Wylly, H.C. 1933. The Loyal North Lancashire Regiment. Vol.II 1914-1919, p.7

[6] Wylly, H.C. 1933. The Loyal North Lancashire Regiment. Vol.II 1914-1919, p.10

[7] Westmorland Gazette, 31 October 1914, p.5

[8] Westmorland Gazette, 31 October 1914, p.8

[9] Westmorland Gazette, 1 September 1917 p.8.

[10] Geographical Journal, 50, 1917, p.466

[11] Grange Red Book, 1906, p.97-98

[12] Grange Red Book, 1906, p.53

[13] Grange Red Book, 1912, p.110-111

[14] Grange Red Book, 1913,

[15] Grange Red Book, 1913,

[16] Grange Red Book, 1916, p.103

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