Ernest George Meers (1849 – 20 August 1928) was an English

tennis Tennis is a racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent ( singles) or between two teams of two players each ( doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket that is strung with cord to strike a hollow rubber ball ...

player, organist and gum merchant.

Biography

Meers was born in Kingsnorth, near

Ashford Ashford may refer to: Places Australia *Ashford, New South Wales *Ashford, South Australia *Electoral district of Ashford, South Australia Ireland *Ashford, County Wicklow *Ashford Castle, County Galway United Kingdom * Ashford, Kent, a town ** ...

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 ...

. He earned a Bachelor of Music from

Queen's College, Oxford The Queen's College is a constituent college of the University of Oxford, England. The college was founded in 1341 by Robert de Eglesfield in honour of Philippa of Hainault. It is distinguished by its predominantly neoclassical architecture, ...

and was later chairman and managing director of Watts Ltd, gummakers. He married Eliza Rose, daughter of Captain Henry Douglas-Hart of the

Madras Army The Madras Army was the army of the Presidency of Madras, one of the three presidencies of British India within the British Empire. The presidency armies, like the presidencies themselves, belonged to the East India Company until the Government ...

, who was assassinated while serving in India in 1858. They had three sons and two daughters who survived him.

Tennis career

His played first tournament at the

North of England Championships The North of England Championships and later known as the Rothmans Open North of England Championships (for sponsorship reasons), was a men's and women's grass court tennis tournament founded in 1884 as the North Yorkshire Tournament. It was mainly ...

in Scarborough in 1884 going out in the round of 16. He reached his first final at Sittingbourne in 1885 losing to

Ernest Wool Lewis Ernest Lewis may refer to: * Ernest Lewis (tennis) (1867–1930), British amateur lawn tennis player * Ernest Lewis (footballer), Welsh footballer * Ernest W. Lewis (1875–1919), American jurist * Ernie Lewis Ernest Clayton Lewis (November 20, ...

. Meers played at the

Wimbledon Championships The Wimbledon Championships, commonly known simply as Wimbledon, is the oldest tennis tournament in the world and is widely regarded as the most prestigious. It has been held at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club, All England Club in ...

between 1890 and 1895, reaching the quarterfinals of the all-comers competition in 1894 and the semifinals in 1895. He reached the semifinals of the U.S. National Championships in

1889 Events January–March * January 1 ** The total solar eclipse of January 1, 1889 is seen over parts of California and Nevada. ** Paiute spiritual leader Wovoka experiences a vision, leading to the start of the Ghost Dance movement in the ...

and won the

British Covered Court Championships The British Covered Court Championships (BCCC) was an indoor tennis event held from 1885 through 1971 and played in London, England. The dates of the tournament fluctuated between October and March. History For its first five years the tournament ...

in 1892. His other singles successes included winning the

indoors on hard wood courts in 1891. He won the

Kent Championships The Kent Championships also known as the Kent All-Comers' Championships was a tennis tournament held in Foxgrove Road, Beckenham, Kent, England between 1886 and 1996 and was held in the first half of June. From 1887 until 1910 the tournament was ...

on grass three times (1888, 1890–91). In addition he also won three titles at the

Essex Championships The Essex Championships was a combined men's and women's grass court tennis tournament last held at Frinton Lawn Tennis Club, Frinton-on-Sea, Essex, Great Britain from 1881 to 1973. History The ''Essex Championships'' were established in 1881 a ...

(1887–88, 1890) and the

Middlesex Championships The Middlesex Championships. or Middlesex Lawn Tennis Championships and also known as the Middlesex Open Tennis Championships was a men's and women's grass court tennis founded at the Chiswick Park Lawn Tennis Club, Chiswick Park, Chiswick, Middles ...

onetime in 1891. He played his last tournament at the British Covered Court Championships in 1896 going out in the quarter-finals.Nieuwland, Tennis Archives

References

1849 births 1928 deaths People from the Borough of Ashford 19th-century male tennis players Alumni of The Queen's College, Oxford English classical organists English male tennis players Tennis people from Kent British male tennis players {{UK-tennis-bio-stub