Major Charles Peter Allen, PC (2 December 1861 – 18 September 1930) was an

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Culture, language and peoples * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England * ''English'', an Amish ter ...

Liberal politician who represented

Stroud Stroud is a market town and civil parish in Gloucestershire, England. It is the main town in Stroud District. The town's population was 13,500 in 2021. Sited below the western escarpment of the Cotswold Hills, at the meeting point of the ...

from 1900 to 1918. His professional career was as a

solicitor A solicitor is a lawyer who traditionally deals with most of the legal matters in some jurisdictions. A person must have legally defined qualifications, which vary from one jurisdiction to another, to be described as a solicitor and enabled to p ...

and newspaper journalist. He served his country during World War I, as a major in the

Gloucestershire Regiment The Gloucestershire Regiment, commonly referred to as the Glosters, was a line infantry regiment of the British Army from 1881 until 1994. It traced its origins to Colonel Gibson's Regiment of Foot, which was raised in 1694 and later became the ...

, and as a sportsman played international

rugby Rugby may refer to: Sport * Rugby football in many forms: ** Rugby union: 15 players per side *** American flag rugby *** Beach rugby *** Mini rugby *** Rugby sevens, 7 players per side *** Rugby tens, 10 players per side *** Snow rugby *** Tou ...

for

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

Personal history

Charles Peter Allen was born in 1861 in

Prestwich Prestwich ( ) is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Bury, Greater Manchester, England, north of Manchester, north of Salford and south of Bury. Within the boundaries of the historic county of Lancashire, Prestwich was the seat of the ...

, Lancashire to Peter Allen, the manager of the

Manchester Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

and part owner of the

Manchester Evening News The ''Manchester Evening News'' (''MEN'') is a regional daily newspaper covering Greater Manchester in North West England, founded in 1868. It is published Monday–Saturday; a Sunday edition, the ''MEN on Sunday'', was launched in February 20 ...

. A younger brother was the Liberal politician

Arthur Acland Allen Arthur Acland Allen (11 August 1868 – 20 May 1939) was a British Liberal Party (UK), Liberal Party politician who served as a member of parliament (MP) between 1906 and 1918. Biography Allen was the son of Peter Allen, manager of the ''Manc ...

. In 1865 the family moved to

Beaumaris Beaumaris (; ) is a town and community (Wales), community on the Anglesey, Isle of Anglesey in Wales, of which it is the former county town. It is located at the eastern entrance to the Menai Strait, the tidal waterway separating Anglesey fro ...

on the Isle of

Anglesey Anglesey ( ; ) is an island off the north-west coast of Wales. It forms the bulk of the Principal areas of Wales, county known as the Isle of Anglesey, which also includes Holy Island, Anglesey, Holy Island () and some islets and Skerry, sker ...

, when they rented a property. The family purchased a house in the town in 1873. Allen was educated at

Rugby School Rugby School is a Public school (United Kingdom), private boarding school for pupils aged 13–18, located in the town of Rugby, Warwickshire in England. Founded in 1567 as a free grammar school for local boys, it is one of the oldest independ ...

, 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 correspondent and was sent to Russia, Bulgaria and Turkey.Charles Peter Allen biography
bangor-rugby.co.uk While in

Constantinople Constantinople (#Names of Constantinople, see other names) was a historical city located on the Bosporus that served as the capital of the Roman Empire, Roman, Byzantine Empire, Byzantine, Latin Empire, Latin, and Ottoman Empire, Ottoman empire ...

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. 1905 Charles Peter Allen MP

In 1900 he became Member of Parliament for Stroud, and he and his family moved to the area. While an MP, Allen was made a Privy Councillor, and was appointed a deputy lieutenant of

Gloucestershire Gloucestershire ( , ; abbreviated Glos.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by Herefordshire to the north-west, Worcestershire to the north, Warwickshire to the north-east, Oxfordshire ...

in 1911. He retained his position as MP until 1918. Allen had been a member of the 5th Battalion, Gloucestershire Regiment in the

Territorial Force The Territorial Force was a part-time volunteer component of the British Army, created in 1908 to augment British land forces without resorting to conscription. The new organisation consolidated the 19th-century Volunteer Force and yeomanry in ...

prior to the outbreak of war, and at the age of 53 he became a full-time soldier, helping to raise the 2/5th Gloucesters. Posted to France as a captain, he became a Town Major, dealing with troop movements. 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 The Oxford University Rugby Football Club (Oxford University RFC or OURFC) is the rugby union club of the University of Oxford. The club contests The Varsity Match every year against Cambridge University at Twickenham. History Men's team ...

, though he had also represented Rugby School as a youth. Allen played in three Varsity Matches against

Cambridge University The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209, the University of Cambridge is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, wo ...

, 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 Charlie Henry Newman (28 February 1857 – 28 September 1922) was a Welsh international three-quarter who played club rugby for Newport. He was awarded ten caps for Wales and captained the team on six occasions. An original member of the Newp ...

, 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.WRU recognises North Wales
wrexhamafc.co.uk, 17 January 2008 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 William Joseph Norton (2 November 1900 – 4 December 1963) was an Irish Labour Party politician who served as Tánaiste from 1948 to 1951 and from 1954 to 1957, Leader of the Labour Party from 1932 to 1960, Minister for Social Welfare from ...

International matches played

WalesSmith (1980), p. 463. * 1884 * 1884

References

Bibliography

* Capt A.F. Barnes, ''The Story of the 2/5th Battalion Gloucestershire Regiment 1914–1918'', Gloucester: Crypt House Press 1930/Uckfield: Naval & Military, 2003, . * * *

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Allen, Charles Peter 1861 births 1930 deaths Territorial Force officers Military personnel from the Metropolitan Borough of Bury Alumni of University College, Oxford British Army personnel of World War I British barristers British sportsperson-politicians Deputy lieutenants of Gloucestershire English male journalists English rugby union players Gloucestershire Regiment officers Liberal Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom Oxford University RFC players People educated at Rugby School People from Prestwich Rugby union players from Greater Manchester The Guardian journalists UK MPs 1900–1906 UK MPs 1906–1910 UK MPs 1910 UK MPs 1910–1918 Wales international rugby union players Welsh rugby union players Manchester Rugby Club players Rugby union three-quarters Bangor RFC (Wales) players