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Brigadier-General '''Philip John Miles''', CB, CMG, FRGS, (23 December 1864 – 26 December 1948) was a British officer of the [[British Indian Army|Indian Army]] during the late nineteenth and early twentieth century. After an early career serving on the North-West Frontier and in Central Asia, he rose to command brigades during the [[First World War]] and the [[Third Anglo-Afghan War]].

==Early life and career==

Miles was born on 23 December 1864, the eldest son of a rural curate.<ref>''Who Was Who''</ref> His father, Philip John Miles, was the curate of [[Little Bytham]] in [[Lincolnshire]], and had married Elinor Sarah Jex-Blake, a clergyman's daughter, on 3 February of the same year.<ref>{{acad|id=FML849PE|name=Miles, Philip Edward}}. The date is given as November, but this appears to be a mistake; see announcement in the '' Bury and Norwich Post'' for 9 February 1864.</ref>

After being educated at [[Shrewsbury School]], Miles joined the [[Royal Marine Light Infantry]] in 1885 but, after two years service, transferred to the [[Indian Army]] as an officer in the [[45th Rattray's Sikhs|45th (Rattrays) Sikhs]]. He served in the [[Hazara Expedition of 1888]], the [[Miranzai Expeditions (1891)|First Miranzai Expedition]] of 1891, and in China during the [[Boxer Rebellion]] in 1900.<ref>''Who Was Who''</ref>

Around the turn of the century, Miles was posted to special duties in the [[Gilgit Agency]], on the Chinese-Indian border,<ref>''Who Was Who''</ref> and then as the "Temporary Assistant to the Resident at Srinagar on Chinese Affairs" in [[Kashgar]], [[Chinese Turkestan]], now western [[Xinjiang]]. Here, he served as the British resident diplomat and official in far western China, and as "Colonel Miles" is mentioned several times by travellers of the period.<ref>Crosby, pp. 31-33</ref>

==Senior command==

After his return to regular duties, he served with the [[Malakand Field Force]] during the [[Mohmand expedition of 1908]], where he was [[mentioned in despatches]] and promoted to a [[brevet (military)|brevet]] lieutenant-colonel. He was promoted to command the [[51st Sikhs (Frontier Force)]] in 1909, with a substantive promotion to Colonel in 1913, and relinquished command of the regiment in 1914.<ref>''Who Was Who''</ref>

Miles briefly commanded a New Army brigade of Irish volunteer troops, the [[47th Brigade (United Kingdom)|47th Brigade]] of [[16th (Irish) Division]], in France from December 1915 to January 1916.<ref>''Who Was Who''</ref> His younger brother, Henry, was at the time a temporary second lieutenant in one battalion of the brigade, the 6th [[Connaught Rangers]]; he would be killed in action at [[Battle of the Somme|the Somme]] in July 1916.<ref>{{acad|id=FML885HR|name=Miles, Henry Robert}}. Henry's appointment as a second lieutenant is given in {{London Gazette |issue=29273 |date=24 August 1915 |page=8401 }}</ref>

In 1917, Miles returned to India, where he led a column in the [[Operations against the Marri and Khetran tribes (1918)|Operations against the Marri and Khetran tribes]], for which he was made a [[Companion of the Order of St. Michael and St. George]].<ref>''Who Was Who''</ref>

Miles' last military service was to command a brigade in the [[Waziristan campaign (1919–1920)|Waziristan campaign of 1919]]; he retired in December of that year, with the honorary rank of Brigadier-General.<ref>''Who Was Who''</ref>

==References==
{{reflist|30em}}

*{{cite book|last=Crosby|first=Oscar Terry|title=Tibet and Turkestan : a journey through old lands and a study of new conditions|year=1905|publisher=Putnam|url=https://archive.org/details/tibetturkestanjo00crosrich}}
*[http://ukwhoswho.com/view/article/oupww/whowaswho/U229272/ MILES, Brig.-Gen. Philip John], in ''Who Was Who'' (2008)

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Miles, Philip}}
[[Category:1864 births]]
[[Category:1948 deaths]]
[[Category:British Indian Army generals]]
[[Category:Royal Marines officers]]
[[Category:People educated at Shrewsbury School]]
[[Category:Companions of the Order of the Bath]]
[[Category:Companions of the Order of St Michael and St George]]
[[Category:Indian Army generals of World War I]]
[[Category:Fellows of the Royal Geographical Society]]
[[Category:British military personnel of the Hazara Expedition of 1888]]
[[Category:British military personnel of the Boxer Rebellion]]
[[Category:British military personnel of the Third Anglo-Afghan War]]
[[Category:British military personnel of the Waziristan Campaign]]

Philip Miles (Indian Army officer) - Revision history

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