Lieutenant-Commander John Bryan Peter Duppa-Miller, GC (born Miller; 22 May 1903 – 15 December 1994) was a

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...

officer who was awarded the

George Cross The George Cross (GC) is the highest award bestowed by the British government for non-operational Courage, gallantry or gallantry not in the presence of an enemy. In the British honours system, the George Cross, since its introduction in 1940, ...

for his "great gallantry and undaunted devotion to duty" in bomb disposal work during

the Blitz The Blitz (English: "flash") was a Nazi Germany, German bombing campaign against the United Kingdom, for eight months, from 7 September 1940 to 11 May 1941, during the Second World War. Towards the end of the Battle of Britain in 1940, a co ...

of late 1940. He was attached to and rendered safe many unexploded devices safe, including several

parachute mine A parachute mine is a naval mine dropped from an aircraft by parachute. They were mostly used in the Second World War by the Luftwaffe The Luftwaffe () was the aerial warfare, aerial-warfare branch of the before and during World War II. ...

s that fell onto the bank of the

River Roding The River Roding () is a river that rises at Molehill Green, Essex, England, then flows south through Essex and London and forms Barking Creek as it reaches the River Thames. Course The river leaves Molehill Green and passes through or near a ...

in Essex.

George Cross

Temporary Sub-Lieutenant Miller, working closely with Able Seaman Stephen Tuckwell, defused and rendered safe numerous enemy bombs and mines. They were both awarded the George Cross for dealing with a

that had fallen into the soft mud bank of the Roding River, which runs into

Barking Creek Barking Creek joins the River Roding to the River Thames The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the The Isis, River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entir ...

. Sub-Lieutenant Miller commandeered a canoe and having put this on a fire-float with the UXB kit, he and Tuckwell ventured out into the river. They then left the River Fire Service fire-float and went on in the canoe, until they sighted the black rim of the mine which was stuck in the mud by the nose. Tuckwell refused Miller's suggestion that he should retire to a place of safety. He pointed out that as Sub-Lieutenant Miller would be working under at least a foot of water he would need someone to hand him the tools. They managed to get out one fuse, but could not reach the other, so appealed to several crane-drivers who had come to see what was happening, and they at once volunteered to help. The two experts got back into the water, put ropes round the mine, and with the assistance of the crane-drivers, the huge cylinder was dragged slowly out of the creek, over the muddy bank and up on to the wharf. The final stages of the operation were then completed.

Citation

His award was cited in the ''

London Gazette London is the capital and largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Western Europe, with a population of 14.9 million. London stands on the River Tha ...

'' of 14 January 1941.''London Gazette'', dated 14 January 1941
/ref>

Personal life

Miller married three times. Miller's second wife was Clare Heald (née Harding), a well-known horsewoman in her day. One of his sons by his first wife was a Conservative MP, Hilary "Hal" Miller.

Footnotes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Duppa-Miller, Jack 1903 births 1994 deaths Alumni of Hertford College, Oxford Bomb disposal personnel British recipients of the George Cross Military personnel from Birmingham, West Midlands People educated at Rugby School Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve personnel of World War II Royal Navy officers of World War II Royal Navy recipients of the George Cross