| John Iles | |
| Birth Date: | 17 September 1871 |
| Birth Place: | Bristol, England |
| Death Place: | Birchington, Kent, England |
| Batting: | Right-handed |
| Club1: | Gloucestershire |
| Year1: | 1890–1891 |
| Date: | 30 March 2014 |
| Source: | http://www.espncricinfo.com/england/content/player/15417.html Cricinfo |
John Henry Iles OBE (17 September 1871 – 29 May 1951) was an English entrepreneur, musician and cricketer.[1] He played for Gloucestershire between 1890 and 1891.[2]
In 1898, he acquired the British Bandsman magazine, and in 1900, he founded the National Brass Band Championships of Great Britain.[3]
In 1919 - just before Christmas, Iles purchased the Hall-By-The-Sea in Margate, Kent[4] previously run by Lord George Sanger.[5] He paid £40,000 for the park but spent £500,000 developing his vision of an American style amusement park for Kent which he renamed Dreamland. Almost immediately in 1920 he built the iconic Scenic Railway, now a grade II* listed structure that is still in use and also the oldest rollercoaster in the UK.[6]
He was master of the Worshipful Company of Musicians from 1932–3, and inaugurated the John Henry Iles medal in 1947.[7] He was awarded an OBE in 1947 for services to the brass band movement.[8]