Charles Peter Allen

Charles Peter Allen
Charles Peter Allen MP, circa 1910
Full name Charles Peter Allen
Date of birth (1861-12-02)2 December 1861
Place of birth Prestwich, England
Date of death 18 September 1930(1930-09-18) (aged 68)
Place of death London, England
School Rugby School
University Oxford University
Rugby union career
Playing career
Position Back
Amateur clubs
Years Club / team
Oxford University RFC
Bangor RFC
Manchester
National team(s)
Years Club / team Caps (points)
1884 Wales[1] 2 (0)

Charles Peter Allen (2 December 1861 – 18 September 1930)[2] was an English Liberal politician who represented Stroud from 1900-1914. His professional career was as a solicitor and newspaper journalist. He served his country during World War I, as a major in the Gloucestershire Regiment, and as a sportsman played international rugby for Wales.

Personal history

Charles Peter Allen was born in 1861 in Prestwich, Lancashire to Peter Allen, the manager of the Manchester Guardian and part owner of the Manchester Evening News. In 1865 the family moved to Beaumaris on the Isle of Angelsey in Wales, when they rented a property. The family purchased a house in the town in 1873.[3] Allen was educated at Rugby School, before matriculating to Oxford University. On leaving university he was articled to a firm of Manchester solicitors, and qualified as a barrister, though by 1887 he had changed careers and became a journalist for the Manchester Guardian. He was assigned as a foreign correspondenet and was sent to Russia, Bulgaria and Turkey.[3] While in Constantinople he met Evelina Barker and the two were married in the city in 1890, before returning to live in Beaumaris. They had five children, four daughters and a son.

Charles Peter Allen MP, circa 1905

In 1900 he became Member of Parliament for Stroud, and he and his family moved to the area. While a MP, Allen was made a Privy Councillor,[4] and was appointed a deputy lieutenant of Gloucestershire in 1911.[5] He retained his position as MP until 1918. Allen had been a member of the Territorial Volunteers of the 2/5th Battalion, Gloucestershire Regiment prior to the outbreak of war, and at the age of 53 he became a full-time soldier. Posted to France as a captain, he became a Town Major, dealing with troop movements.[3] At the end of his military career, Allen had reached the rank of major. In 1922 he ran again for the Parliamentary seat of Stroud, but was beaten. He died at his London home in 1930.

Rugby career

Allen first came to note as a rugby player when he was selected for Oxford University RFC, though he had also represented Rugby School as a youth. Allen played in three Varsity Matches against Cambridge University, winning three sporting 'Blues' from 1881 to 1883. In 1884, Allen was selected to play for Wales in the opening match of the Home Nations Championship against his birth country, England. Under the captaincy of Charlie Newman, Wales lost by a goal to a goal and two tries, though it was Allen who scored the only Welsh try, the first points the Welsh team had ever scored against the English.[6] Allen was reselected for the next game of the tournament, in a home game to Scotland. Wales lost the game, and Allen was replaced for the final game by Cardiff's William Norton.

International matches played

Wales[7]

References

  1. ↑ Welsh Rugby Union player profiles
  2. ↑ Charles Allen rugby profile Scrum.com
  3. 1 2 3 Charles Peter Allen biography Archived 28 July 2011 at the Wayback Machine. bangor-rugby.co.uk
  4. ↑ Jenkins, John M.; et al. (1991). Who's Who of Welsh International Rugby Players. Wrexham: Bridge Books. p. 13. ISBN 1-872424-10-4.
  5. ↑ The London Gazette: no. 28548. p. 8059. 7 November 1911.
  6. ↑ WRU recognises North Wales Archived 3 October 2011 at the Wayback Machine. wrexhamafc.co.uk, 17 January 2008
  7. ↑ Smith (1980), pg 463.

Bibliography

External links

Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by
Charles Cripps		 Member of Parliament for Stroud
1900 – 1918 		Succeeded by
Sir Robert Ashton Lister
This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 11/20/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.