Private James Miller VC - 7th Battalion King's Own Royal Lancaster Regiment

James was born in Hoghton. Lancashire in 1890 and before the was worked in the local paper mill. At the outbreak of the war he enlisted in the army and was sent to France. During the Battle of the Somme, one of the bloodiest battles of the conflict, his unit took enemy positions, but the number of casualties meant they needed reinforcements to hold the ground they had gained.  He was selected to deliver a request to the adjacent company and told to bring back a reply 'at all costs'. His actions meant that reinforcements arrived, saving the lives of his comrades. He was compelled to cross the open, and on leaving the trench was shot almost immediately in the back, the bullet coming through his abdomen. In spite of this, with heroic courage and self-sacrifice, he compressed the gaping wound in his abdomen, delivered his message, staggered back with his answer, and fell dead at the feet of the officer to whom he delivered it. He gave his life with a supreme devotion to duty. Following his death he was awarded the Victoria Cross.