William Barnsley Allen (8 June 1892 – 27 August 1933) was a

British Army The British Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of the United Kingdom. the British Army comprises 73,847 regular full-time personnel, 4,127 Brigade of Gurkhas, Gurkhas, 25,742 Army Reserve (United Kingdom), volunteer reserve perso ...

medical officer who was decorated for gallantry four times during the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, including an award of the

Victoria Cross The Victoria Cross (VC) is the highest and most prestigious decoration of the Orders, decorations, and medals of the United Kingdom, British decorations system. It is awarded for valour "in the presence of the enemy" to members of the British ...

, the highest award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and

Commonwealth A commonwealth is a traditional English term for a political community founded for the common good. The noun "commonwealth", meaning "public welfare, general good or advantage", dates from the 15th century. Originally a phrase (the common-wealth ...

forces.

Early life

Allen attended St Cuthbert's College, now

Worksop College Worksop College (formerly St Cuthbert's College) is a British co-educational private school for both boarding and day pupils aged 11 to 18, in Worksop. It sits at the northern edge of Sherwood Forest, in Nottinghamshire, England. Founded by N ...

, then studied medicine at

Sheffield University The University of Sheffield (informally Sheffield University or TUOS) is a public research university in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. Its history traces back to the foundation of Sheffield Medical School in 1828, Firth College in 1879 ...

in the

West Riding of Yorkshire The West Riding of Yorkshire was one of three historic subdivisions of Yorkshire, England. From 1889 to 1974 the riding was an administrative county named County of York, West Riding. The Lord Lieutenant of the West Riding of Yorkshire, lieu ...

. He graduated MB and ChB in 1914 and joined the

Royal Army Medical Corps The Royal Army Medical Corps (RAMC) was a specialist corps in the British Army which provided medical services to all Army personnel and their families, in war and in peace. On 15 November 2024, the corps was amalgamated with the Royal Army De ...

a few days after the United Kingdom declared war on Germany. He was commissioned as a

lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a Junior officer, junior commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations, as well as fire services, emergency medical services, Security agency, security services ...

, and attached to the 3rd West Riding

Field Ambulance A field ambulance (FA) is the name used by the British Army and the armies of other Commonwealth nations to describe a mobile medical unit that treats wounded soldiers very close to the combat zone. In the British military medical system that deve ...

First World War

In September 1916 Allen, by then promoted to

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

, was awarded the

Military Cross The Military Cross (MC) is the third-level (second-level until 1993) military decoration awarded to officers and (since 1993) Other ranks (UK), other ranks of the British Armed Forces, and formerly awarded to officers of other Commonwealth of ...

for actions on unspecified dates: On 3 September 1916 Allen was attached to the 246th (West Riding) Brigade,

Royal Field Artillery The Royal Field Artillery (RFA) of the British Army provided close artillery support for the infantry. It was created as a distinct arm of the Royal Regiment of Artillery on 1 July 1899, serving alongside the other two arms of the regiment, the ...

, near Mesnil, France, when the following event took place for which he was awarded the Victoria Cross "for most conspicuous bravery and devotion to duty": In 1917 Allen was awarded a

Bar Bar or BAR may refer to: Food and drink * Bar (establishment), selling alcoholic beverages * Candy bar ** Chocolate bar * Protein bar Science and technology * Bar (river morphology), a deposit of sediment * Bar (tropical cyclone), a laye ...

to his Military Cross: For actions in October 1918 Allen (by then acting

major Major most commonly refers to: * Major (rank), a military rank * Academic major, an academic discipline to which an undergraduate student formally commits * People named Major, including given names, surnames, nicknames * Major and minor in musi ...

) was awarded the

Distinguished Service Order The Distinguished Service Order (DSO) is a Military awards and decorations, military award of the United Kingdom, as well as formerly throughout the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth, awarded for operational gallantry for highly successful ...

: He also received a

mention in despatches To be mentioned in dispatches (or despatches) describes a member of the armed forces whose name appears in an official report written by a superior officer and sent to the high command, in which their gallant or meritorious action in the face of t ...

at the end of the war. Allen died of an accidental drug overdose in 1933.

Legacy

His Victoria Cross is displayed at the

Army Medical Services Museum The Museum of Military Medicine, formerly the Army Medical Services Museum (AMS Museum), is located in Keogh Barracks, on Mytchett Place Road, Mytchett, Surrey, England. History The museum is based on the "Mytchett Collection", a collection o ...

Mytchett Mytchett is a village in the borough of Surrey Heath, in Surrey, England. It is approximately south-west of central London and to the east of Farnborough, its nearest town. Much of the village dates from the first half of the twentieth centu ...

Surrey Surrey () is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Greater London to the northeast, Kent to the east, East Sussex, East and West Sussex to the south, and Hampshire and Berkshire to the wes ...

. Allen was a member of Sheffield University Officers Training Corps while he was studying medicine. Just off the main mess in the Somme Barracks, home of Sheffield UOTC, there is an ante-room named the "Allen VC Room" which proudly displays on the wall a framed photograph of William, along with the citation as well as a copy of his VC and several of his other medals. On 3 September 2016, 100 years after he received the Victoria Cross, a commemorative plaque was unveiled in his memory at the Sheffield War Memorial in Barkers' Pool.

References

Sources

*
Willian Barnsley Allen Biography

ALLEN, Major William Barnsley
Who Was Who, A & C Black, 1920–2008; online edn, Oxford University Press, Dec 2007, retrieved 19 November 2012 *

External links

"West Sussex"

"Army Medical Services Museum, Mytchett"
Major W.B. Allen
{{DEFAULTSORT:Allen, William Barnsley Royal Army Medical Corps officers British Battle of the Somme recipients of the Victoria Cross Military personnel from Sheffield British Army personnel of World War I Alumni of the University of Sheffield 1892 births 1933 deaths People educated at Worksop College Drug-related deaths in England British Army recipients of the Victoria Cross Recipients of the Military Cross Companions of the Distinguished Service Order