Arnold Frank Hills (12 March 1857 – 7 March 1927) was an English businessman, sportsman, philanthropist, and promoter of
vegetarianism.
Biography
Hills was born in
Denmark Hill,
Surrey, son of a manufacturing chemist.
Arnold Hills was also a keen sportsman who was the English mile (1878) and three-mile champion (1879),
and in his youth had played
football and cricket (he was Captain of the 1st XI) for his school team
Harrow. After leaving Harrow he attended
University College, Oxford
University College (in full The College of the Great Hall of the University of Oxford, colloquially referred to as "Univ") is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. It has a claim to being the oldest college of the unive ...
, where he earned the degree of
B.A.
Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four yea ...
(1880)
and two football blues. He appeared as a
forward for
Oxford University
Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to th ...
as they finished runners-up in the
1877 FA Cup Final
The 1877 FA Cup Final was a Association football, football match between Wanderers F.C., Wanderers and oxford University A.F.C., Oxford University on 24 March 1877 at The Oval, Kennington Oval in London. It was the sixth final of the world's ...
against
Wanderers.
He continued to play as an amateur for Old Harrovians after he left, even winning a Corinthian's Cap whilst there; for
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
, against
Scotland
Scotland (, ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a Anglo-Scottish border, border with England to the southeast ...
on 5 April 1879 at the
Kennington Oval
The Oval, currently known for sponsorship reasons as the Kia Oval, is an international cricket ground in Kennington, located in the borough of Lambeth, in south London. The Oval has been the home ground of Surrey County Cricket Club since it ...
, when England won 5–4.
In addition to his vegetarian activism, Hills was Managing Director of the
Thames Iron Works
The Thames Ironworks and Shipbuilding Company, Limited was a shipyard and iron works straddling the mouth of Bow Creek at its confluence with the River Thames, at Leamouth Wharf (often referred to as Blackwall) on the west side and at Cannin ...
, a large
shipbuilding
Shipbuilding is the construction of ships and other floating vessels. It normally takes place in a specialized facility known as a shipyard. Shipbuilders, also called shipwrights, follow a specialized occupation that traces its roots to befo ...
business in London which had existed since 1846. He chose to live for five years among his workers in a small house in the East India Dock Road in
Canning Town and organised recreational centres for them.
However, he caused some bitterness when there was a strike over poor pay and working conditions by employing 'black' labour. Considering his philanthropy, it must have been a situation that troubled him greatly.
In the summer of 1895 Hills, along with
Dave Taylor, helped found
Thames Ironworks F.C., who later became
West Ham United
West Ham United Football Club is an English professional football club that plays its home matches in Stratford, East London. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football. The club plays at the London Stadium, hav ...
. He believed that his own local community should have its own football team and financially supported the football club until April 1900, when after increasing disagreements with West Ham's board members over the pursuit of 'professionalism', he broke formal ties with the club and the Thames Ironworks.
Hills proposed a West Ham as a limited company and became the major shareholder, and encouraged business associates, family and his workmen to invest, promising to buy one share for every one sold to the public. He rented the
Memorial Grounds to the club at very favourable terms. Hills told the new directors he would not interfere in the running of the club and was true to his word and despite being by far the largest single shareholder never attended an AGM, ask to address a meeting or present any demands or suggestions.
The failing fortunes of the ironworks and his involvement in developing a new car engine pushed the club into the background and he became a virtual invalid suffering from
arthritis. He died at Hammerfield,
Penshurst
Penshurst is a historic village and civil parish located in a valley upon the northern slopes of the Kentish Weald, at the confluence of the River Medway and the River Eden, within the Sevenoaks district of Kent, England.
The village is situ ...
,
Kent
Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...
, in 1927 aged 69, and was buried at St Luke's Church in Penshurst.
His shareholding in West Ham of 1100 out of 4000 (1142 shares remained unsold until 1961) passed to his family and the same arrangements remained.
In 2014 as part of their preparation for their move to the
Olympic Stadium
''Olympic Stadium'' is the name usually given to the main stadium of an Olympic Games. An Olympic stadium is the site of the opening and closing ceremonies. Many, though not all, of these venues actually contain the words ''Olympic Stadium'' as ...
, West Ham announced one of the corporate entertainment areas would be a private dining club, the Arnold Hills suite.
Vegetarianism
Hills was the first President of the
London Vegetarian Society
The Vegetarian Society of the United Kingdom is a British registered charity which was established on 30 September 1847 to promote vegetarianism.
History
In the 19th century a number of groups in Britain actively promoted and followed mea ...
(1888) serving alongside the young
Mahatma Gandhi
Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (; ; 2 October 1869 – 30 January 1948), popularly known as Mahatma Gandhi, was an Indian lawyer, anti-colonial nationalist Quote: "... marks Gandhi as a hybrid cosmopolitan figure who transformed ... anti- ...
on the Executive Committee. He was also the first President of the Vegetarian Cycling and Athletic Club and also served as President of a London Vegetarian Rambling Club. He founded ''The Vegetarian'', an independent magazine, as well as the
Vegetarian Federal Union
The Vegetarian Federal Union (VFU) was a British vegetarianism organisation founded in 1889, which operated until 1911.
History
In July 1889, a group of individuals from the London Vegetarian Society met and drew up plans to form what would bec ...
(1889), of which he was also President. Hills also had close ties with the
Temperance League. He founded the Oriolet Fruitarian Hospital at
Loughton
Loughton () is a town and civil parish in the Epping Forest District of Essex. Part of the metropolitan and urban area of London, the town borders Chingford, Waltham Abbey, Theydon Bois, Chigwell and Buckhurst Hill, and is northeast of Chari ...
, under the medical direction of
Josiah Oldfield.
Hills authored ''Vital Food'' (1892) which argued for a plant-based
raw food
Raw foodism, also known as rawism or a raw food diet, is the dietary practice of eating only or mostly food that is uncooked and unprocessed. Depending on the philosophy, or type of lifestyle and results desired, raw food diets may include ...
diet.
Charles W. Forward's 1898 book on vegetarian history, ''Fifty Years of Food Reform'' was dedicated to Hills.
[Forward, Charles W. (1898)]
''Fifty Years of Food Reform: A History of the Vegetarian Movement in England''
London: The Ideal Publishing Union.
Publications
*''Vital Food'' (1892)
*''Vegetarian Essays'' (1897)
*''Essays on Vegetarianism'' (1910)
References
Further reading
*
External links
nbsp;— information from the International Vegetarian Union
Arnold Hillsnbsp;— biography on the Oxford University Association Football Club website
nbsp;— information about the Thames Ironworks company
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hills, Arnold
1857 births
1927 deaths
Alumni of University College, Oxford
Association football forwards
British vegetarianism activists
England international footballers
English businesspeople
English footballers
English philanthropists
English temperance activists
FA Cup Final players
Footballers from the London Borough of Lambeth
Old Harrovians F.C. players
Oxford University A.F.C. players
People associated with the Vegetarian Society
People educated at Harrow School
Raw foodists
Wanderers F.C. players