Eustace Hamilton Miles (22 September 1868 – 20 December 1948) was an English

real tennis Real tennis – one of several games sometimes called "the sport of kings" – is the original racquet sport from which the modern game of tennis (also called "lawn tennis") is derived. It is also known as court tennis in the United Sta ...

player, author and

restaurateur A restaurateur is a person who opens and runs restaurants professionally. Although over time the term has come to describe any person who owns a restaurant, traditionally it refers to a highly skilled professional who is proficient in all aspe ...

. He competed in the

1908 Summer Olympics The 1908 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the IV Olympiad and also known as London 1908) were an international multi-sport event held in London, England, from 27 April to 31 October 1908. The 1908 Games were originally schedu ...

and was a

vegetarian Vegetarianism is the practice of abstaining from the Eating, consumption of meat (red meat, poultry, seafood, insects as food, insects, and the flesh of any other animal). It may also include abstaining from eating all by-products of animal slau ...

who disliked that label and made his name selling health products and health advice to

Edwardian In the United Kingdom, the Edwardian era was a period in the early 20th century that spanned the reign of King Edward VII from 1901 to 1910. It is commonly extended to the start of the First World War in 1914, during the early reign of King Ge ...

Britons.

Early life and education

Miles was the grandson of

Sir William Miles, 1st Baronet Sir William Miles, 1st Baronet (13 May 1797 – 17 June 1878), was an English politician, agriculturalist and landowner. He was educated at Eton College and Christ Church, Oxford, and was created a baronet on 19 April 1859, of Leigh Court, ...

by his son Captain William Henry Miles, J.P. (1830–1888) and Mary Frances Miles, née Charleton. He was born at

Hampstead Hampstead () is an area in London, England, which lies northwest of Charing Cross, located mainly in the London Borough of Camden, with a small part in the London Borough of Barnet. It borders Highgate and Golders Green to the north, Belsiz ...

and was educated at

Eastbourne College Eastbourne College is a co-educational Private schools in the United Kingdom, fee-charging school in the English Public school (United Kingdom), public school tradition, for boarding school, boarding and Day school, day pupils aged 13–18, in ...

Marlborough College Marlborough College is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school (English private boarding school) for pupils aged 13 to 18 in Marlborough, Wiltshire, England. It was founded as Marlborough School in 1843 by the Dean of Manchester, George ...

and King's College,

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a List of cities in the United Kingdom, city and non-metropolitan district in the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It is the county town of Cambridgeshire and is located on the River Cam, north of London. As of the 2021 Unit ...

. In 1906, Miles married Dorothy Beatrice Harriet Killick (nicknamed Hallie).West Hampstead’s tennis world champion (and food fanatic)
West Hampstead Life.

Career

In 1908, he won the Olympic silver medal at the age of 39, after losing the final to

Jay Gould II Jay Gould II (September 1, 1888 – January 26, 1935) was an American real tennis player and a grandson of the railroad magnate Jay Gould. He was the world champion (1914–1916) and the Olympic gold medalist (London, 1908, then und ...

, the bronze medal was won by The Hon Neville Bulwer-Lytton, later 3rd

Earl of Lytton Earl of Lytton, in the County of Derby, is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created in 1880 for the diplomat and poet Robert Bulwer-Lytton, 2nd Baron Lytton. He was Viceroy of India from 1876 to 1880 and British Ambassado ...

. Miles had, in fact, coached the much younger Gould during his stay in America from 1900 to 1902 when he became the first non-American winner of the US Championship in 1900. He won further the amateur racquets championship of the world in singles in 1906 and in doubles in 1902, 1904, 1905 and 1906; and of England in doubles as well as becoming amateur squash racquets champion of America in 1900. He was amateur

champion of England in 1898–1903, 1905, 1906, 1909 and 1911 and amateur real tennis champion of the world from 1898 to 1903 and 1905. Miles was a prolific author, including collaborations with lifelong friend

E. F. Benson Edward Frederic Benson (24 July 1867 – 29 February 1940) was an English novelist, biographer, memoirist, historian and short story writer. Early life E. F. Benson was born at Wellington College (Berkshire), Wellington College in Berkshire, ...

with whom he may have had a college romance, on diverse subjects including health (e.g. "Fitness for Play and Work" 1912), athletics ("An Alphabet of Athletics"), diet ("The Failures of Vegetarianism" 1902), ancient history ("A History of Rome up to 500 AD, with Essays, Maps and Aids to Memory" 1901) and

Classics Classics, also classical studies or Ancient Greek and Roman studies, is the study of classical antiquity. In the Western world, ''classics'' traditionally refers to the study of Ancient Greek literature, Ancient Greek and Roman literature and ...

("Comparative Syntax of Greek and Latin"). His wife, also an author, and him both engaged in philanthropic works including providing free food and clothing to the poor of London, available during winter months near

Cleopatra's Needle Cleopatra's Needles are a separated pair of ancient Egyptian obelisks now in London and New York City. The obelisks were originally made in Heliopolis (modern Cairo) during the New Kingdom period, inscribed by the 18th dynasty pharaoh Thutmose I ...

, a charitable exercise supported strongly by

Queen Alexandra Alexandra of Denmark (Alexandra Caroline Marie Charlotte Louise Julia; 1 December 1844 – 20 November 1925) was List of British royal consorts, queen-consort of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Empress of India, from 22 Januar ...

Health and diet

Miles authored many books on dieting and

vegetarianism Vegetarianism is the practice of abstaining from the Eating, consumption of meat (red meat, poultry, seafood, insects as food, insects, and the flesh of any other animal). It may also include abstaining from eating all by-products of animal slau ...

. Miles's comprehensive regimen combined abstention from alcohol with games, daily practice of gymnastics, personal cleanliness, breathing exercises, and meditation. Miles promoted the concept of "mental hygiene". Miles was known for promoting different vegetable diets. He became a vegetarian but refused to be identified under that label as he believed the practice of vegetarianism had many faults, he expounded on these ideas in his book ''The Failures of Vegetarianism''. His diet emphasized

grain A grain is a small, hard, dry fruit (caryopsis) – with or without an attached husk, hull layer – harvested for human or animal consumption. A grain crop is a grain-producing plant. The two main types of commercial grain crops are cereals and ...

legume Legumes are plants in the pea family Fabaceae (or Leguminosae), or the fruit or seeds of such plants. When used as a dry grain for human consumption, the seeds are also called pulses. Legumes are grown agriculturally, primarily for human consum ...

s and

meat substitutes A meat alternative or meat substitute (also called plant-based meat, mock meat, or alternative protein), is a food product made from vegetarian or vegan ingredients, eaten as a replacement for meat. Meat alternatives typically approximate qual ...

which he called "Simpler Food".Whorton, James C. (2016 edition). ''Crusaders for Fitness: The History of American Health Reformers''. Princeton University Press. pp. 260-262. He published a monthly magazine, ''Healthward Ho!'' Miles advertised and experimented with different diets. He originally embraced a

uric acid Uric acid is a heterocyclic compound of carbon, nitrogen, oxygen, and hydrogen with the Chemical formula, formula C5H4N4O3. It forms ions and salts known as urates and acid urates, such as ammonium acid urate. Uric acid is a product of the meta ...

-free diet but found it too restricting. He later criticized this diet in a booklet ''The Uric Acid Fetish'' (1915). Miles also experimented with Edward H. Dewey's "No Breakfast Plan" but abandoned it in favour of his own "No Lunch Plan". Miles drew publicity for his article on how to live on a diet of two

plasmon biscuit Plasmon biscuits are a biscuit containing plasmon, a proprietary dried milk. The manufacturers claimed that of plasmon equalled of milk. Plasmon was manufactured by the International Plasmon Company and was added to a number of different produ ...

s and one

lentil The lentil (''Vicia lens'' or ''Lens culinaris'') is an annual plant, annual legume grown for its Lens (geometry), lens-shaped edible seeds or ''pulses'', also called ''lentils''. It is about tall, and the seeds grow in Legume, pods, usually w ...

a day. In 1904, it was humorously reported in '' Punch'' that during the semi-final of a tennis competition, Miles was surrounded by an angry mob who compelled him to eat a

meat chop A meat chop is a cut of meat cut perpendicular to the spine, and usually containing a rib or riblet part of a vertebra and served as an individual portion. The most common kinds of meat chops are pork and lamb. A thin boneless chop, or one ...

. Miles has also been described as an advocate of

lacto vegetarianism A lacto-vegetarian (sometimes referred to as a lactarian; from the Latin root lact-, ''milk'') diet abstains from the consumption of meat as well as Egg as food, eggs, while still consuming dairy products such as milk, cheese (without animal renn ...

.Tibbles, William. (1914)
''Dietetics: Or Food in Health and Disease''
Lea & Febiger. p. 243 His ideas about dieting were criticized by medical health experts as impractical. Physician William Tibbles suggested that "it seems almost impossible for any but the wealthy and leisured classes to follow his teachings thoroughly."

Eustace Miles Restaurant

Miles was the owner of a vegetarian restaurant in Chandos Street,

Charing Cross Charing Cross ( ) is a junction in Westminster, London, England, where six routes meet. Since the early 19th century, Charing Cross has been the notional "centre of London" and became the point from which distances from London are measured. ...

that was alleged to have served more than a thousand diners a day. He also owned health food shops in London and two other restaurants, in

Carshalton Carshalton ( ) is a town, with a historic village centre, in south London, England, within the London Borough of Sutton. It is situated around southwest of Charing Cross and around east by north of Sutton town centre, in the valley of the Rive ...

and Chelsea. The restaurant is mentioned in the 1914 ''Gourmet Guide to London'' by Nathaniel Newnham-Davis and briefly mentioned in E. M. Forster's ''

Howards End ''Howards End'' is a novel by E. M. Forster, first published in 1910, about social conventions, codes of conduct and relationships in turn-of-the-century England. ''Howards End'' is considered by many to be Forster's masterpiece. The book wa ...

'' (1910)."Even Edwardians suffered from healthy living"
The Telegraph. Although he expanded his business and his restaurant prospered during

WWI World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting took place mainly in Europe and th ...

, interest in vegetarianism declined during that time. Miles later went bankrupt and sold his properties. When he died he left only £175.

Publications

''Better Food for Boys''
(1901)
''The Game of Squash''
(1901)
''How to Remember: Without Memory Systems or with Them''
(Frederick Warne & Co., 1901)
''Avenues to Health''
(1902)
''The Failures of Vegetarianism''
(1902)
''Daily Training''
(1903) ith Edward Frederic Benson">Edward_Frederic_Benson.html" ;"title="ith Edward Frederic Benson">ith Edward Frederic Bensonbr>''Muscle, Brain, and Diet: A Plea for Simpler Foods''
(1903)
''Racquets, Tennis, and Squash''
(1903)
A Boy's Control and Self-Expression
(1904) *''An Alphabet of Athletics'' (1904)
''Breathing for Health, Athletics, and Brain-Work''
(1904)
''Cassell's Physical Educator''
(1904)
''Diversions Day By Day''
ith Edward Frederic Benson] (1905)
''How to Prepare Essays, Lectures, Articles, Books, Speeches and Letters, with Hints on Writing for the Press''
(London: Rivingtons, 1905)
''What Foods Feed Us''
(1905)
''The New Cookery of Unproprietary Foods''
(1906) *''Life After Life: The Theory of Reincarnation'' (1907)
''The Eustace Miles System of Physical Culture With Hints as to Diet''
(1907)
''The Training of the Body''
(1908)
''The Power of Concentration: How to Acquire It''
(1909) *''Fitness for Play and Work'' (1912)
''Prevention and Cure''
(1912) *''The Uric Acid Fetish'' (1915)

ith C. H. Collings The Ith () is a ridge in Germany's Central Uplands which is up to 439 m high. It lies about 40 km southwest of Hanover and, at 22 kilometers, is the longest line of crags in North Germany. Geography Location The Ith is im ...

*''Self-Health as a Habit'' (1919)
''Keep Happy''
(1920)

References

External links

* * *
Charity
{{DEFAULTSORT:Miles, Eustace 1868 births 1948 deaths English real tennis players English restaurateurs English vegetarianism activists Jeu de paume players at the 1908 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 1908 Summer Olympics Olympic real tennis players for Great Britain Olympic silver medallists for Great Britain Pseudoscientific diet advocates