John Manchester Allen

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John Manchester Allen
Member of the New Zealand Parliament
for Hauraki
In office
15 October 1938 – 28 November 1941 
Preceded byCharles Robert Petrie
Succeeded byAndy Sutherland
Personal details
Born(1901-08-03)3 August 1901
Cheadle, Staffordshire, England
Died28 November 1941(1941-11-28) (aged 40)
Libya
Cause of deathKilled in action
RelativesStephen Allen (uncle)
William Allen (uncle)
William Shepherd Allen (grandfather)
John Candlish (great-grandfather)
Military service
Branch/serviceNew Zealand Military Forces
Years of service1939–41 
RankLieutenant Colonel
Commands21st Battalion
Battles/warsSecond World War
Awardsmentioned in despatches

John Manchester Allen (3 August 1901 – 28 November 1941) was a New Zealand politician of the National Party. He also served in the Second World War and commanded the 21st Battalion from May 1941 until he was killed in action in Libya.

Biography[edit]

New Zealand Parliament
Years Term Electorate Party
1938–1941 26th Hauraki National

Allen was born in Cheadle, Staffordshire, England, in 1901. His father, John Candlish Allen, died in France in 1917 from wounds received in the First World War. His uncles were Stephen Allen and William Allen, and his grandfather was William Shepherd Allen. He was educated at King's College, Auckland, and at Pembroke College, Cambridge where he graduated with MA and LLB degrees. He was a farmer in Morrinsville, and an Anglican lay reader.[1]

He represented the Hauraki electorate from 1938 to 1941, when he died.[2] Following the outbreak of the Second World War, he volunteered to serve with the 2nd New Zealand Expeditionary Force and was posted to 18th Battalion as its second-in-command.[3] He was in Crete[4] as commander of the 21st Battalion[5] before being killed in action during an offensive in Libya.[1] He was succeeded in the Hauraki electorate by Andy Sutherland, who won the resulting 1942 by-election.[6]

Notes[edit]

  1. ^ a b Gustafson 1986, p. 297.
  2. ^ Wilson 1985, p. 179.
  3. ^ Dawson 1961, p. 3.
  4. ^ "Lieutenant Colonel John Manchester Allen | NZETC". nzetc.victoria.ac.nz. Retrieved 2 January 2016.
  5. ^ Cody 1953, p. 83.
  6. ^ Wilson 1985, p. 237.

References[edit]

New Zealand Parliament
Preceded by Member of Parliament for Hauraki
1938–1941
Succeeded by