B A Miles

[oldnick]

I found 26 specimens documented as collected by B A Miles; 2 not Rubus clearly were collected by him; the rest, all Rubus, I didn't think so. They are from numerous parts of Britain. The sheets show them as determined by Miles. The handwriting seems much the same on all those sheets, but different from Miles' own, and I couldn't help suspecting a student; one has had the name 'Miss K Marton' (? illegible) added later

[Roger Horton]

The Obituary of Beverley Alan Miles (BAM) in Watsonia, 8, 423-424 (1971) [pdf] describes a life of early promise sadly cut short.

In Kent & Allen (the book) it says: "MILES, Beverley Alan, 1937-1970. *CGE (Rubus). NMW (v.cc. 1, 13, 41 & 42). SLBI." I think implying that (some of) his Rubus herbarium is at Cambridge, and that other specimens are at the National Museum of Wales (West Cornwall, West Sussex, Glamorganshire & Breconshire), and at the SLBI.

As BAM started collecting at the age of 7 or 8 there was ample time for his handwritng to develop. Later there must have been opportunity for the posthumous relabeling of specimens by various herbarium curtors.

Strict reading of the labels of the SLBI Rubus you refer to would result in their being documented as just 'Determined' by BAM. The two Cambridge Mentha just 'Ex. Herb' BAM. The vast majority of his contributions in h@h are as determiner, and in particular of Rubus.

[oldnick]

The collector seems generally to be Miss K Marks

[Roger Horton]

Two interesting snippets:

In the obituary of Eric Edees (Watsonia 1995, 20: 317-320 [pdf]) it says:

"B. A. Miles had, from 1961 onwards, set himself the task of refinding Watson's and J. E. Woodhead's collecting sites, amassing much definitive material of taxa described in Watson's Handbook. Based in south-eastern England and applying himself to the task with vigour, he built up a detailed knowledge of the brambles of the Home Counties, both in field and herbarium, as well as a burgeoning distrust of Watson's taxonomy. Eric was pleased to find a batologist familiar with the South-East to complement his own mainly Midland and Northern experience."

In Notes. Watsonia 24 (2002), 215-225 [pdf] "Range extensions for Rubus rhombifolius Weihe ex Boenn. and Rubus babingtonianus W.C.R. Watson in East Anglia", A.L. Bull pp. 224–225 says:

'At the time of publication of Brambles of the British Isles by Edees and Newton Rubus rhombifolius had only one record in the whole of East Anglia and, until recently, the source of that record could not be traced. However, whilst transferring old records from the late E. L. Swann’s card index, Mrs G. Beckett came across an entry for this species "B.S.B.I. excursion to Roydon Common (near Kings Lynn) v.c. 28, 1964, Miss K. Marks."'