Sir Stephen James Hamilton Miller, KCVO,

GCStJ The Order of St John, short for Most Venerable Order of the Hospital of Saint John of Jerusalem (french: l'ordre très vénérable de l'Hôpital de Saint-Jean de Jérusalem) and also known as St John International, is a British British monarchy ...

, FRCS (1915–1996) was a Scottish ophthalmic surgeon. He was Surgeon-Oculist to the Queen from 1974 to 1980.

Early life, education and military career

Born on 19 July 1915 in

Arbroath Arbroath () or Aberbrothock ( gd, Obar Bhrothaig ) is a former royal burgh and the largest town in the council area of Angus, Scotland, with a population of 23,902. It lies on the North Sea coast some ENE of Dundee and SSW of Aberdeen. The ...

, Miller was the son of an engineer. He studied at the

University of Aberdeen The University of Aberdeen ( sco, University o' 'Aiberdeen; abbreviated as ''Aberd.'' in List of post-nominal letters (United Kingdom), post-nominals; gd, Oilthigh Obar Dheathain) is a public university, public research university in Aberdeen, Sc ...

, graduating with his medicine and surgery degrees in 1937."Miller, Sir Stephen James Hamilton (1915–1996)"
'' Plarr's Lives of the Fellows'' (

Royal College of Surgeons of England The Royal College of Surgeons of England (RCS England) is an independent professional body and registered charity that promotes and advances standards of surgical care for patients, and regulates surgery and dentistry in England and Wales. The ...

). Retrieved 20 July 2021. He then undertook house appointments, including one in

ophthalmology Ophthalmology ( ) is a surgical subspecialty within medicine that deals with the diagnosis and treatment of eye disorders. An ophthalmologist is a physician who undergoes subspecialty training in medical and surgical eye care. Following a medic ...

Hull Hull may refer to: Structures * Chassis, of an armored fighting vehicle * Fuselage, of an aircraft * Hull (botany), the outer covering of seeds * Hull (watercraft), the body or frame of a ship * Submarine hull Mathematics * Affine hull, in affi ...

."Sir Stephen Miller", ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper ''The Sunday Times'' (fou ...

'' (London), 18 April 1996, p. 23. At the outbreak of the Second World War, he was commissioned as a surgeon-lieutenant in the

Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve Royal may refer to: People * Royal (name), a list of people with either the surname or given name * A member of a royal family Places United States * Royal, Arkansas, an unincorporated community * Royal, Illinois, a village * Royal, Iowa, a cit ...

. After three years, he was appointed ophthalmic specialist at the Royal Navy's hospital in

Kilmacolm Kilmacolm () is a village and civil parish in the Inverclyde council area, and the historic county of Renfrewshire in the west central Lowlands of Scotland. It lies on the northern slope of the Gryffe Valley, southeast of Greenock and aroun ...

. He completed the Diploma of Ophthalmic Surgery and Medicine in 1944. He was subsequently posted to

Malta Malta ( , , ), officially the Republic of Malta ( mt, Repubblika ta' Malta ), is an island country in the Mediterranean Sea. It consists of an archipelago, between Italy and Libya, and is often considered a part of Southern Europe. It lies ...

, before leaving the armed forces in 1946.

Surgeon

After a short spell in the

Glasgow Eye Infirmary Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...

in 1946,"Miller, Sir Stephen (James Hamilton)"
'' Who Was Who'' (online ed.,

Oxford University Press Oxford University Press (OUP) is the university press of the University of Oxford. It is the largest university press in the world, and its printing history dates back to the 1480s. Having been officially granted the legal right to print books ...

, 2021). Retrieved 20 July 2021. Miller was appointed a consultant ophthalmic surgeon at the Hull Royal Infirmary, but soon resigned when promised equipment and buildings did not materialise. He was appointed registrar at Moorfields Eye Hospital in 1947 (where he remained until 1950); in 1948, he was elected a fellow of the

Royal College of Surgeons The Royal College of Surgeons is an ancient college (a form of corporation) established in England to regulate the activity of surgeons. Derivative organisations survive in many present and former members of the Commonwealth. These organisations a ...

. He was also employed as a registrar at St George's Hospital, London, from 1949 where he was promoted to Ophthalmic Surgeon in 1951 (remaining there until 1980); alongside this appointment, he was Ophthalmic Surgeon at the National Hospital, Queen's Square, from 1955 to 1978 and a Surgeon at Moorfields Eye Hospital from 1954 to 1980. At the latter, he created London's first

glaucoma Glaucoma is a group of eye diseases that result in damage to the optic nerve (or retina) and cause vision loss. The most common type is open-angle (wide angle, chronic simple) glaucoma, in which the drainage angle for fluid within the eye rem ...

unit. He authored ''Modern Trends in Ophthalmology'' (1973), ''Operative Surgery'' (1976), the 16th (1978), 17th (1984) and 18th (1990) editions of ''Parsons' Diseases of the Eye'', and ''Clinical Ophthalmology for the Post-Graduate'' (1987). Miller was appointed Surgeon Oculist to the Royal Household in 1965 (in the same year also being appointed Ophthalmic Surgeon at

King Edward VII's Hospital King Edward VII's Hospital (formal name: King Edward VII's Hospital Sister Agnes) is a private hospital located on Beaumont Street in the Marylebone district of central London. Agnes Keyser, later known as Sister Agnes, established the hospit ...

). He was promoted to be Surgeon-Oculist to the Queen in 1974. In 1979, he was appointed a Knight Commander of the

Royal Victorian Order The Royal Victorian Order (french: Ordre royal de Victoria) is a dynastic order of knighthood established in 1896 by Queen Victoria. It recognises distinguished personal service to the British monarch, Canadian monarch, Australian monarch, o ...

, and in 1980 left his royal office and retired from the NHS. From 1980 to 1990, he was Hospitaller of the

St John Ophthalmic Hospital The St John of Jerusalem Eye Hospital Group is a charitable foundation which operates an ophthalmic hospital in Jerusalem – one of six hospitals in the East Jerusalem Hospitals Network – and satellite eye care clinics and hospitals in the We ...

Jerusalem Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...

(he was made a Commander of the Order in 1962, a Knight of Grace in 1978 and Bailiff Grand Cross in 1987).
The London Gazette
', issue 42573 (16 January 1962), p. 433. He died on 12 April 1996.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Miller, Stephen 1915 births 1996 deaths Scottish surgeons Knights Commander of the Royal Victorian Order