Nothing definite is known of Richard Miles's origins, except that he was born a Motswana (Tswana), and as a youth was in the employ of the apothecary John Harfield Tredgold in Cape Town.Ashworth, M.G. 1974. The life and fortunes of John Pocock of Cape Town, 1814-1876; Tredgold, A.1990. The Ardernes and their garden. Cape Town: Arderne Book Trust.
