Brynley William Allen (23 March 1921 – 21 July 2005) was a Welsh professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby ...

who played as an

inside forward Forwards (also known as attackers) are outfield positions in an association football team who play the furthest up the pitch and are therefore most responsible for scoring goals as well as assisting them. As with any attacking player, the role ...

for various clubs in the 1940s and 1950s and made two appearances for

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...

Football career

Allen was born in

Gilfach Goch Gilfach Goch is a community, electoral ward and small former coal mining village mostly in the Borough of Rhondda Cynon Taf, south Wales, near the larger community of Tonyrefail. Some areas in the North Western part of the village lie within ...

, Glamorgan and as a schoolboy attracted the attention of several

football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, the league is the oldest such competition in the world. It was the top-level football league in Engla ...

clubs, including

Manchester United Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of City of Salford, Salford to ...

, where he had an unsuccessful trial. On leaving school, he was employed in the Trave Colliery before signing for Swansea Town when he was 16. He had not broken into Swansea's first team before his career was interrupted by the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

. During the war, he joined the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by Kingdom of England, English and Kingdom of Scotland, Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were foug ...

where he served on board the battleship on convoy duty. Whilst serving on ''Duke of York'', he took part in a football match at

Scapa Flow Scapa Flow viewed from its eastern end in June 2009 Scapa Flow (; ) is a body of water in the Orkney Islands, Scotland, sheltered by the islands of Mainland, Graemsay, Burray,S. C. George, ''Jutland to Junkyard'', 1973. South Ronaldsay an ...

against a team from the . He guested or

Cardiff City Cardiff City Football Club ( cy, Clwb Pêl-droed Dinas Caerdydd) is a professional association football club based in Cardiff, Wales. It competes in the Championship, the second tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1899 as R ...

during the hostilities and, after he was

demobilised Demobilization or demobilisation (see spelling differences) is the process of standing down a nation's armed forces from combat-ready status. This may be as a result of victory in war, or because a crisis has been peacefully resolved and milit ...

at the end of the war, he was signed by the club on a permanent basis in December 1945. Described as a "clever and skillful player with an excellent body swerve", he made his professional debut on the opening day of the 1946–47 season during a 2–1 defeat to

Norwich City Norwich City Football Club (also known as The Canaries or The Yellows) is an English professional football club based in Norwich, Norfolk. The club competes in the EFL Championship following their relegation from the Premier League in the 2 ...

. Allen soon became a regular with Cardiff and his 18 goals helped them to promotion at the end of the first post-war Football League campaign. Allen, however, did not remain long in the

Second Division In sport, the Second Division, also called Division 2 or Division II is usually the second highest division of a league, and will often have promotion and relegation with divisions above and below. Following the rise of Premier League style compet ...

and was transferred to Newport County in October 1947. He returned to

Ninian Park Ninian Park was a football stadium in the Leckwith area of Cardiff, Wales, that was the home of Cardiff City F.C. for 99 years. Opened in 1910 with a single wooden stand, it underwent numerous renovations during its lifespan and hosted fixtu ...

in August 1948, with Reg Parker moving in the opposite direction, but in May 1949 he was transferred to

Reading Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of Letter (alphabet), letters, symbols, etc., especially by Visual perception, sight or Somatosensory system, touch. For educators and researchers, reading is a multifaceted process invo ...

. Nine months later, he was back in the Second Division with

Coventry City Coventry City Football Club is a professional association football club based in Coventry, West Midlands, England. The team currently compete in the Championship, the second tier of the English football league system. The club is nicknamed the ...

. In January 1950, Reading had played an evening match against Coventry City; after the match, Reading's manager

Ted Drake Edward Joseph Drake (16 August 1912 – 30 May 1995) was an English football player and manager. As a player, he first played for Southampton but made his name playing for Arsenal in the 1930s, winning two league titles and an FA Cup, as wel ...

mentioned to Harry Storer that Allen was available for transfer. Storer then set off immediately to Allen's home, where he persuaded him to sign, with the deal being completed at midnight. Allen's international debut came on 21 October 1950, when he was called up for the Home Championship match against

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to th ...

. Despite displaying great "cohesion" and making good use of the ball "as a line", Wales lost 3–1 to the more muscular Scots. Allen retained his place for the next match against

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...

the following month; this match also ended in a defeat for Wales. Allen remained with Coventry until 1952, when he dropped down to

non-league football Non-League football describes association football, football leagues played outside the top leagues of a country. Usually, it describes leagues which are not fully professional. The term is primarily used for football in England, where it is s ...

with

Merthyr Tydfil Merthyr Tydfil (; cy, Merthyr Tudful ) is the main town in Merthyr Tydfil County Borough, Wales, administered by Merthyr Tydfil County Borough Council. It is about north of Cardiff. Often called just Merthyr, it is said to be named after Ty ...

, before spells at

Hereford United Hereford United Football Club was an association football club based in Hereford, England. They played at Edgar Street for their entire history. They were nicknamed 'The Whites' or 'The Lilywhites', after their predominantly white kit, or 'Th ...

Barry Town Barry Town United Football Club ( cy, Clwb Pêl Droed Tref Y Barri) is a semi-professional association football team based in Barry, Wales. They are known for representing Wales in Europe as winners of the Cymru Premier and Welsh Cup during ...

and Haverfordwest Athletic. At Barry Town, he was part of the team which won the

Welsh Cup The FAW Welsh Cup ( cy, Cwpan Cymdeithas Pêl-droed Cymru), currently known as the JD Welsh Cup for sponsorship reasons, is a knock-out football competition contested annually by teams in the Welsh football league system. It is considered the mo ...

in 1955, defeating

Chester Chester is a cathedral city and the county town of Cheshire, England. It is located on the River Dee, close to the English–Welsh border. With a population of 79,645 in 2011,"2011 Census results: People and Population Profile: Chester Loca ...

4–3 in the final, after a replay.

International appearances

Roberts made two appearances for Wales in official international matches, as follows:

Later career

After leaving professional football, Allen worked as a

postman A mail carrier, mailman, mailwoman, postal carrier, postman, postwoman, or letter carrier (in American English), sometimes colloquially known as a postie (in Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom), is an employee of a post ...

in his home town of

, where he died on 21 July 2005. He was buried at

Tonyrefail Tonyrefail is a village and community in the Rhondda Cynon Taf County Borough, Wales. It is situated at the head of the River Ely; northwest of Llantrisant, about from Trebanog and about from Williamstown. During the second half of the 19th ...

Cemetery. In May 2007, Allen's collection of sporting memorabilia came up for auction. The lots included his Football League Division Three (South) Championship medal from 1946 to 1947 (sold for £1,100), his international jerseys from the matches against Scotland and England in 1950 (sold for £600 each) and a scrapbook of ephemera.

Honours

Cardiff City *

Third Division South The Third Division South of The Football League was a tier in the English football league system from 1921 to 1958. It ran in parallel with the Third Division North with clubs elected to the League or relegated from Division Two allocated to on ...

champions: 1946–47 Barry Town *

winners:

1955 Events January * January 3 – José Ramón Guizado becomes president of Panama. * January 17 – , the first nuclear-powered submarine, puts to sea for the first time, from Groton, Connecticut. * January 18– 20 – Battle of Yiji ...

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Allen, Bryn 1921 births People from Glamorgan 2005 deaths Welsh footballers Association football forwards Wales international footballers Swansea City A.F.C. players Cardiff City F.C. players Newport County A.F.C. players Reading F.C. players Coventry City F.C. players Merthyr Tydfil F.C. players Hereford United F.C. players Barry Town United F.C. players Haverfordwest County A.F.C. players English Football League players Southern Football League players Royal Navy personnel of World War II