Bertrand Peter Allinson (12 August 1891 – 1 April 1975) was an English physician, naturopath and writer. He was also an anti-vaccination, anti-vivisection and vegetarianism activist.
Life and career
Allinson was the son of Thomas Allinson and brother of Adrian Allinson.Powys, John Cowper; Krissdottir, Morine. (1998). The Dorset Year: The Diary of John Cowper Powys, June 1934-July 1935. Powys Press. p. 119. He was raised as a vegetarian and studied medicine. Allinson qualified MRCS and LRCP in 1914 from the University College Hospital.The Medical Directory 1969. Churchill Livingstone, 1969. p. 27 He was a Captain in the Royal Army Medical Corps (1916–1920). Allinson was a physician at the British Hospital for Mental and Nervous Diseases.
Allinson was an anti-vaccinationist and anti-vivisectionist. He opposed the use of pharmaceutical drugs which he believed hindered the "automatic cleansing process". Allinson wrote articles supportive of naturopathy. He was vice-president of the National Anti-Vaccination League.
Allinson was a physician at the Nature Cure Clinic, a naturopathic hospital which promoted vegetarianism and animal welfare causes such as anti-vivisection."The Vegetarian Movement in England 1847-1981: A Study in the Structure of Its Ideology". International Vegetarian Union. Retrieved 14 May 2021. The Nature Cure Clinic opened in 1928 at an apartment in Baker Street."Nature Cure Clinic and Hospital". Ezitis.myzen.co.uk. Retrieved 14 May 2021. In 1940, the out-patient building was destroyed by bombing and the Clinic moved to Allinson's house in Dorset Square. After the war, the clinic moved to Oldbury Place.
Allinson was treasurer of the London and Provincial Anti-Vivisection Society.Anti-Vivisection. Western Mail (March 22, 1933). p. 11 His daughter Sonya Madeleine Allinson was an artist.Who's Who in Art: Volume 33. Art Trade Press, 2008. p. 12
Vegetarianism
Allinson stated that fruit juice fasting, a strict vegetarian diet and naturopathic practices such as hydrotherapy and osteopathy could be used to prevent and cure many diseases including cancer, hypertension and rheumatism.Pure Diet For Health. West Bridgford Advertiser (May 30, 1925). p. 3Nature Diet. Birmingham Daily Gazette. (May 10, 1927). p. 10Diet to Abolish Rheumatism. Reynolds's Newspaper. (May 11, 1930). p. 9 He opposed the consumption of alcohol, coffee, meat, processed sugar, tea, white bread and promoted a vegetarian diet of raw fruit, nuts, salads, dairy products and whole grains. He described alcohol, coffee and tea as injurious to the functions of the body.Dietetic Sinners: Vegetarian Leader Pleads for Two Meals a Day. Daily News (October 18, 1921). p. 5 Allinson recommended persons between the ages of 25 and 55 to take two meals per day and after that age one meal per day in the afternoon. Allinson was vice-president of East Surrey Vegetarian Society.Vegetarian Societies Join Forces. The Advertiser (May 23, 1958). p. 6
Allinson was vice-president of the International Vegetarian Union (1958–1963) and President of the London Vegetarian Society (1922–1962)."Dr. Bertrand P. Allinson M.R.C.S., L.R.C.P.". International Vegetarian Union. Retrieved 14 May 2021.New President for Vegetarian Society. Kensington Post (April 27, 1962). p. 4
Selected publications
Mice and Men: Part 1, Mice and Men: Part 2 (The Starry Cross, 1922) Meat in the Child’s Dietary (The British Medical Journal, 1935) The Diet of the Future (Croydon Vegetarian Society, 1942) Diet and High Blood Pressure (The Vegetarian Society, 1947) Status of Naturopathy (The British Medical Journal, 1951) Nature Cure (The British Medical Journal, 1952)
References