Allan H. Miles

(July 22, 1922 – )

Allan Henry Miles was a UK fan from Bristol active in the 1940s and 1950s. He was was a member of the British Fantasy Society (BFS). Some sources give his first name as Alan and while the single-L version is more widely used in fandom his RAF records confirm the double-L spelling.

Profiled in Futurian War Digest #35, he said:

Lived in Cardiff for 10 years & now residing in Bristol. Was employed as a civil servant in Bristol – when I found my first S.F. mag. My interest had been stimulated in this sphere by the unfortunate Scoops and the films The Tunnel and Things to Come, although I had been an admirer of H. G. Wells since school days. The idle picking up of a TWS started me on the downward path, into which I helped drag B. H. Edwards of Testbury, another member. Was not aware of British fandom, even though buying books from Ted Carnell's S.F. Service. Looking through a copy of TWS I found a review of New Worlds & contacted Ted Carnell who advised me to get in touch with Michael Rosenblum. This was in '42 sometime. Soon after I was posted overseas to Canada for training in the RAF. Altogether I managed to wangle 5 weeks in USA on leave & wasted little time in sending a subscription to Astounding.

For many & varied reasons (chiefly an amorous one) I was unable to visit fans over there, most of my time being spent in the state of Montana. Being then only recently introduced to fandom I was not in any way capable of being termed a representative of English fandom, It was good being able to buy current mags off the stands though, & I made the most of it. I became engaged to a Montana girl before leaving & am returning at the first opportunity. I received a commission & returned to England where I am now serving on operations in Bomber Command as a Bomb Aimer. I have made several trips into the Third Reich & hope to make many more. My hobbies include collecting classical recordings, oil colouring photographs, general photography & motor cycling. I have met Edwin Macdonald at his home & am a frequent visitor to the Rosenblum household of which I have enjoyed the hospitality many times, & am in fact writing this autobiography there now. Good reading, fans.

He was already in the RAF when he was first mentioned in Futurian War Digest seeking correspondents. He was posted to Canada and then the United States, returning in August 1943 'with as many opera records and stf prozines as he could carry'. He was also the first British fan to acquire The Pocket Book of Science Fiction edited by Donald A. Wollheim.

Fanewscard #154 (May 9, 1945) reported that Miles had been awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross (DFC). The award was officially recorded in The London Gazette March 27, 1945 with the announcement confirming that he was at the time serving in 578 Squadron of the Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve. The DFC is 'an operational gallantry award given to all ranks of the services in recognition of exemplary gallantry during active operations against the enemy in the air'.

Miles was at one point reported as selling his prozines, perhaps in anticipation of the promised move. However he was still in Bristol in Ron Bennett's 1955 Directory of Science Fiction Fandom and again in 1956 although he'd dropped out by 1957. So perhaps he did go to Montana eventually.

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Person

1922—

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