Virtual
War Memorial
Australia

Harry Miller was born in 1884 in Birmingham England. He was 41 years old when he enlisted and was 5 foot and 11 ¼ inches tall. He weighed at 184ibs, and had dark hair, eyes and complexion. Before he enlisted in the war he was a manager for a constructor. He also had a wife, Ellen M Miller. His service number in the war was 576 and he enlisted in the war on the 9th of July 1915 in Keswick South Australia, and was 30 when he arrived here in Australia.

He embarked on his ship from Geelong on the 18th of December 1915 to Suez in Egypt. He served in the 32nd battalion where a lot others did, and unfortunately died a year later in France, Fromelles on the 19th of July 1916. The battle of Fromelles was one of the worst and tragic mistakes they had ever made with over 5000 soldiers becoming casualties in just 24 hours. He was promoted a couple of times first in Tel-el-Kebir on the 12th of February 1916 to temporary corporal, and then again in Ferry Post on the 26th of May 1916 to corporal. Harry Miller served in the 32nd battalion.

The battle of Fromelles occurred in northern France between the 19th and 20th of July 1916. This battle was initially named for the village of Fleurbaix at the time. This area was known as "the nursery" because it was a relatively quiet sector and it was used to introduce the new troops to the warfare. The first, second and fourth divisions were all routed throughout the sector in France, and then with the fifth division to come last in the line. It was relatively quiet in Fromelles until July 1916 when the dynamics changed. On July 1st the British had opened their Somme offensive resulting in a disaster that the British never thought would happen with 60,000 casualties in the first day.  This was the worst disaster that happened in the history of the war.    

Harry Miller was one of the soldiers who died at the battle of Fromelles, which was a tragic site for all soldiers that fought there. My soldier did not become sick in the war and did not have an extreme long life span as almost about a year later he signed up he died in battle at Fromelles. Six days after this attack a patrol found Harry dead in a shell hole in front of no man's land, an area which was no one’s possession and was very dangerous to cross.    

In conclusion Harry Miller was a brilliant soldier and will never be forgotten by his family and friends. He has achieved a lot in his life and he should be very proud of himself.    

"THE LATE CORPORAL H. MILLER.

Mrs. H. Miller, of Beulah-road, Norwood, has been officially notified that her husband, Corporal Harry Miller, B Company, 32nd Battalion, was killed in action on July 17. Corporal Miller was well known in Victoria, where he was contracting for many years." - from the Adelaide Chronicle 26 Aug 1916 (nla.gov.au)

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