Profile

ALLEN, Alexander
(Service number 48144)

Aliases Alick
First Rank Chaplain Captain (Chaplain Class IV [Captain]) Last Rank Chaplain Captain (Chaplain Class IV [Captain])

Birth

Date 25 December 1884 Place of Birth New Zealand

Enlistment Information

Date 30 March 1917 Age 34
Address at Enlistment 66 Fitzroy Street, Caversham, Dunedin
Occupation Clergyman
Previous Military Experience
Marital Status Married (Christchurch, 3 Apr 1914 by Rev CH Laws)
Next of Kin Mrs Eva Allen (wife), 68 Edward Ave, St Albans, Christchurch
Religion Methodist
Medical Information

Military Service

Served with NZ Armed Forces Served in Army
Military District

Embarkation Information

Body on Embarkation New Zealand Expeditionary Force
Unit, Squadron, or Ship Chaplains
Date 14 March 1917
Transport Ruapehu
Embarked From Wellington, NZ Destination Plymouth, England
Other Units Served With No.2 NZ General Hospital & 4 Bn NZ Rifle Brigade
Last Unit Served With NZ Chaplains' Dept

Military Awards

Campaigns Western Europe
Service Medals British War Medal & Victory Medal
Military Awards

Award Circumstances and Date

No information

Prisoner of War Information

Date of Capture
Where Captured and by Whom
Actions Prior to Capture
PoW Serial Number
PoW Camps
Days Interned
Liberation Date

Discharge

Date Reason

Hospitals, Wounds, Diseases and Illnesses

Post-war Occupations

Death

Date 8 May 1918 Age 34
Place of Death Somme, France
Cause Killed in action whilst ministering to the wounded in the Regimental Aid Post
Notices Obituary, The Star, 17 May 1918
Memorial or Cemetery Doullens Communal Cemetery Extension No. 2, Somme, France
Memorial Reference I.B.32.
New Zealand Memorials On Memorial wall, Timaru; Caversham Methodist Church Dunedin; Roll of Honour New Zealand Chaplains Department in World War One, 1914–1919

Biographical Notes

Chaplain Allen was the son of Joseph and Annie Allen, husband of Eva Allen, of Wai-iti Avenue, Timaru. He was born 1 Jan 1884 (NZ BDM Reg No 1884/2867) and married Eva Sandford on 3 Apr 1914 (NZ BDM Reg No 1914/7782). In 1914 he and Eva were living at Main Road Waikouaiti, occupation Methodist Minister.

Allen was attached to No. 2 NZ General Hospital and later 4th Battalion, New Zealand Rifle Brigade (NZRB). Allen was ministering to the wounded in the Regimental Aid Post (RAP) of the 4th Battalion, NZRB, when it was destroyed by German shellfire, killing everyone in it (Cas List No.856/3). He had arrived in France 15 Sep 1917 with the 23rd Reinforcements.

A memorial plaque to his memory exists in the Caversham Methodist Church Dunedin. A son, whom he never saw, was born after he left New Zealand with the Forces.

His war medals, scroll and plaque were sent to his wife Mrs Eva Allen, care Messrs Field & Royds, 200 Cashel Street, Christchurch.

Sources

Cenotaph (August 2013 & October 2014); "Men of Faith & Courage" - The Official History of New Zealand's Army Chaplains - J. Bryant Haigh; NZ BDM Historical Records (bdmhistoricalrecords,dai.govt.nz); NZ Electoral Rolls (ancestry.com.au)

External Links

Related Documents

Researched and Written by

Carol Bell, SC branch NZSG & Timaru Herald, Ted Hansen

Currently Assigned to

Not assigned.

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