Corporal Robert Miller

Corporal Robert Miller, 1st Battalion, Royal Munster Fusiliers. He died in France from wounds, aged 37, on the 14th October 1917. He had been born in Selkirk in 1881 and was the son of James and Margaret Miller of Curror Street, Selkirk and the husband of Janet Miller of 11 Dunsdalehaugh, Selkirk. He was a well known bowler and was ex champion of the Ettrick Forest Club. He was a woollen designer and was living and working in Cork, Ireland when he enlisted in the 9th( Service ) Battalion Munster Fusiliers. In France the Battalion was disbanded with the troops going to the 1st, 2nd and 8th Battalions. He died in the 20th Casualty Clearing Station at Ficheux and is buried in Bucquoy Road Cemetery, Ficheux, France. At that time the Battalion as part of the 16th ( Irish ) Division was involved in the Third Battle of Ypres in Belgium and suffered numerous casualties. The photos give an idea of the conditions in Flanders where the incessant shelling had destroyed the fragile drainage systems.