Reginald Miles
Encyclopedia
Brigadier Reginald Miles, CBE, DSO & Bar, MC (10 December 1892 - 20 October 1943) Military leader, prisoner of war.
Reginald Miles was born in Springston, near Christchurch, in 1892 into a New Zealand farming family. He was educated at Rangiora High School and in 1910 was commissioned a subaltern in the school cadets. The following year he was selected to attend the newly established Royal Military College of Australia at Duntroon. He married Aimée Zita Donnelly; in Egypt, in February 1916, whilst recovering from wounds, and they had five children.
During the First World War Miles served as an artillery captain at Gallipoli and was badly wounded in July 1915. He was later sent to France and during the battle of the Somme awarded the Military Cross in December 1916. In May 1917 he was promoted to major and given command of his own howitzer battery. The following year he was made a DSO (and recommended for the Victoria Cross) for undertaking a daring reconnaissance mission, during which he was wounded by sniper fire. He returned to active service in July as brigade major of the Divisional Field Artillery, and was mentioned in dispatches in November 1918.
In World War II he served in the Greek campaign, mentioned in dispatches and awarded the Greek Military Cross (first class), he re-joined his division in North Africa. In December 1941 his 6th Field Regiment was overrun by German Panzers near Belhamed, was wounded in the back by shrapnel and taken prisoner. He and Brigadier James Hargest
arrived in the Italian prisoner of war camp Vincigliata PG 12 in 1942. The camp was a medieval castle near Florence where he found himself amongst illustrious company such as Lieutenant General Sir Philip Neame
VC, General Sir Richard Nugent O'Connor and Air Marshal Owen Tudor Boyd
. He settled into camp routine becoming a gardener, and actively involved in escape attempts. He together with Hargest escaped to Switzerland –the only two of six officers who escaped from the castle through a tunnel which he helped to build, in April 1943. Neame received a coded letter announcing their success a fortnight later. Miles was made a CBE and received a bar to his DSO for his ‘splendid achievement in escaping’. However, having travelled as far as Spanish frontier on 20 October 1943, in a state of depression and exhaustion, he inexplicably shot himself and was buried in the Figueras Municipal Cemetery. He was posthumously appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in 1944.
Reginald Miles was born in Springston, near Christchurch, in 1892 into a New Zealand farming family. He was educated at Rangiora High School and in 1910 was commissioned a subaltern in the school cadets. The following year he was selected to attend the newly established Royal Military College of Australia at Duntroon. He married Aimée Zita Donnelly; in Egypt, in February 1916, whilst recovering from wounds, and they had five children.
During the First World War Miles served as an artillery captain at Gallipoli and was badly wounded in July 1915. He was later sent to France and during the battle of the Somme awarded the Military Cross in December 1916. In May 1917 he was promoted to major and given command of his own howitzer battery. The following year he was made a DSO (and recommended for the Victoria Cross) for undertaking a daring reconnaissance mission, during which he was wounded by sniper fire. He returned to active service in July as brigade major of the Divisional Field Artillery, and was mentioned in dispatches in November 1918.
In World War II he served in the Greek campaign, mentioned in dispatches and awarded the Greek Military Cross (first class), he re-joined his division in North Africa. In December 1941 his 6th Field Regiment was overrun by German Panzers near Belhamed, was wounded in the back by shrapnel and taken prisoner. He and Brigadier James Hargest
James Hargest
Brigadier James Hargest CBE, DSO & 2 bars, MC, ED, MP, was a New Zealand military officer and politician.Hargest was born in Gore, where his father was a farmer. He joined the Territorial Force in 1911, and when World War I broke out, he volunteered to serve in the New Zealand Expeditionary Force,...
arrived in the Italian prisoner of war camp Vincigliata PG 12 in 1942. The camp was a medieval castle near Florence where he found himself amongst illustrious company such as Lieutenant General Sir Philip Neame
Philip Neame
Lieutenant General Sir Philip Neame VC, KBE, CB, DSO, KStJ was a British Army officer and recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces...
VC, General Sir Richard Nugent O'Connor and Air Marshal Owen Tudor Boyd
Owen Tudor Boyd
Air Marshal Owen Tudor Boyd CB, OBE, MC, AFC was an officer in the British Royal Flying Corps during most of World War I...
. He settled into camp routine becoming a gardener, and actively involved in escape attempts. He together with Hargest escaped to Switzerland –the only two of six officers who escaped from the castle through a tunnel which he helped to build, in April 1943. Neame received a coded letter announcing their success a fortnight later. Miles was made a CBE and received a bar to his DSO for his ‘splendid achievement in escaping’. However, having travelled as far as Spanish frontier on 20 October 1943, in a state of depression and exhaustion, he inexplicably shot himself and was buried in the Figueras Municipal Cemetery. He was posthumously appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in 1944.
Sources
- 'Playing with Strife', The Autobiography of a Soldier, Lt-Gen. Sir Philip Neame, V.C., K.B.E., C.B., D.S.O., George G Harrap & Co. Ltd, 1947, 353 pages,
- 'Farewell Campo 12', Brigadier James Hargest, C.B.E., D.S.O. M.C., Michael Joseph Ltd, 1945, 184 pages contains a sketch map of Castello Vincigliata page 85, route of capture and escape 'Sidi Azir - London (inside front cover),(no index)
- 'Happy Odyssey', Lt-Gen. Sir Carton De Wiart,V.C.,K.B.E.,C.M.G.,D.S.O., Jonathan Cape Ltd, 1950, Pen & Sword Books 2007, 287 pages, ISBN 184415539-0
- Miles, Reginald - Biography, from the Dictionary of New Zealand Biography. http://www.teara.govt.nz/en/biographies/5m46
- List of POW camps in Italy List of POW camps in Italy
- New Zealand Electronic Text Centre: http://www.nzetc.org/tm/scholarly/name-208719.html