Wiltshire soldier to sell rare medals to pay for son's future

Corporal Adam Miller was described as showing "icy nerve and professional dedication"

An army veteran has decided to sell his collection of medals including a Conspicuous Gallantry Cross (CGC) to help pay for his son's future.

The CGC was awarded to Corporal Adam Miller, from Wiltshire, of the Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers (REME) in 2008.

He was given the honour for repairing a cargo truck under heavy fire during an ambush in Iraq on 21 May 2007.

His six medals are expected to fetch between £100,000-140,000 at auction.

Mr Miller, 42, was described as showing "icy nerve and professional dedication...in an impossible situation" over the course of nearly two hours as he fixed the vehicle during the ambush in Basra.

Much of the time he had been under heavy machine gun and rocket propelled grenade fire.

A total of 60 CGCs have been awarded and no other members of the REME have been awarded either the Victoria Cross or the George Cross, so Mr Miller is now the corps' highest-decorated soldier.

His collection of medals are estimated to fetch between £100,000-140,000 at auction

The official citation states: "The soldiers, fighting for their lives from under armour, watched in fear of Mr Miller's life, as he ran forward 50 metres across the exposed bridge, in complete view of the enemy to begin his assessment.

"For the next two hours he worked on the recovery.

"Throughout this period, he was under continuous and heavy fire with bullets striking the road, bridge railings and vehicle he was working on, often only inches from him."

A painting depicting Adam Miller's actions during the ambush in Iraq

Mr Miller joined the REME in 1998 age 17 and served in Germany, Canada, Kosovo and Iraq.

"At the time, I was completely unaware of the severity of the situation, my sole focus was to extract the casualty vehicle to a place of safety, it was only afterwards that I realised how dangerous the situation had actually been," he said.

He was awarded his CGC by Queen Elizabeth II at Buckingham Palace on 4 June 2008.

Now aged 42, Mr Miller left the army in January, and is selling the medals which will be auctioned by Noonans on 19 April.

"I hope that my son, who is 10-years-old can benefit from the proceeds.

"It can help him with his education or buying a house," Mr Miller added.