MAJOR John Miller, formerly of the Scots Guards, who has died aged 91, was awarded a Military Medal, the first to be awarded on British soil, for shooting down a German aircraft which was attacking
Kenley Airfield, Surrey, in August 1940.
After the fall of France in May/June 1940 the German airforce had detailed many of its aircraft to destroy the circle of airfields defending London.
The Scots Guards had detached a company for airfield defence at Kenley when 30 German aircraft, attacking in successive waves, bombed and machine-gunned the airfield.
They hit the detachment headquarters with their first bombs and inflicted widespread casualties with 10 more, followed by machine-gunning.
In the middle of this turmoil Miller, completely calm, fired his Lewis gun steadily and when three aircraft dived on him shot down one of them.
John Miller was born in Dunning, Perthshire, on April 17, 1907, and after leaving school enlisted in the Scots Guards.
In 1941 he guarded Rudolf Hess, Hitler's deputy, after
Hess had flown to Scotland and landed on the estate of the
Duke of Hamilton, carrying
proposals that Germany and Britain should agree a peace in which Germany would respect the integrity of the British Empire in return for a free hand in Europe.
The proposals were totally rejected and Hess was sent to the Tower of London where Miller was one of those who guarded him.
Miller was later selected for Sandhurst training, was commissioned and posted to the King's Liverpool Regiment, prior to transferring to the
Indian Army, where he joined the 2nd Gurkhas (Sirmoor Rifles). He came close to a
second award in Tunisia when ordered to take his troops and capture 18 Germans who were known to be in the vicinity.
However, as his soldiers were exhausted from sorties on the previous night, he decided to leave them sleeping and went out alone and captured the party of Germans by himself.
Although recommended for an award (probably an MC but
a VC was mentioned) this was not confirmed as he was
considered to have unneces-
sarily endangered his own life by not obeying his com-
manding officer's orders to
take his troops with him on
the mission.
After Tunisia Miller fought in the Italian campaign and in November 1944 was sent to Macedonia as Company Commander of ''B'' Company in the 1st Battalion.
As the Germans withdrew from the area the Greek Communist organisation, ELAS, well-armed by the Allies in order to fight against the
Germans, now attempted to overthrow the Greek Government and establish a com-munist republic.
Miller was made an administrator of Macedonia and Thrace where his responsibilities included finding and arresting communist agitators who were active in the villages. The Communist Party then put a price on his head, published by a lavish display of posters throughout the region.
At the end of the war Miller retired from the Army and joined Smith's Industries in North London, where he worked for the next 25 years.
In 1935 he married Esther Martin. They had a daughter.
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