Percy William Allen (2 July 1895 – 21 October 1969) was an English 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 lea ...

who played predominantly as a

right half In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. ...

. He was born in

West Ham West Ham is a district in East London, England and is in the London Borough of Newham. It is an inner-city suburb located east of Charing Cross. The area was originally an ancient parish formed to serve parts of the older Manor of Ham, a ...

Essex Essex ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East of England, and one of the home counties. It is bordered by Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, the North Sea to the east, Kent across the Thames Estuary to the ...

. A Lieutenant, Allen served in the

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 ...

during

World War I 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 ...

, and played as an amateur before moving to

West Ham United West Ham United Football Club is a professional Association football, football club based in Stratford, London, Stratford, East London, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football league system, English f ...

for the club's initial

Division Two Division II or Division 2 may refer to: Sports * NCAA Division II, an intermediate-level division of the National Collegiate Athletic Association * Division 2 (Swedish football) * Division 2 (Swedish ice hockey), the fourth tier of ice hockey in S ...

season. Having played for the club three times in the

London Combination The Football Combination was a football competition for the reserve teams of English Football League clubs from Southern England, the Midlands and Wales; other clubs from the Midlands and those from the North playing in the Central League (it is ...

between December 1917 and October 1918, he made his full debut in a 2–1 home defeat to

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands, within the wider West Midlands (region), West Midlands region, in England. It is the Lis ...

on 1 November 1919, at outside-right. He was also played at centre-forward, but became an ever-present at right-half during the 1921–22 season. Allen lost his place in the team to Sid Bishop due to the reappearance of a blood ailment which he had suffered from during his time in the Army. Allen made 86 league and cup appearances for the Irons, scoring 5 goals. He played his final competitive game for the club on 17 February 1923, against

Barnsley Barnsley () is a market town in South Yorkshire, England. It is the main settlement of the Metropolitan Borough of Barnsley and the fourth largest settlement in South Yorkshire. The town's population was 71,422 in 2021, while the wider boroug ...

. He was part of the group that travelled to Austria and Hungary in May 1923, but did not feature. Allen was transferred to Lincoln City in January 1924. After 61 appearances for the Imps, he joined

Northampton Town Northampton Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in the town of Northampton, England. The team competes in EFL League One, League One, the third level of the English football league system. Founded in 1897, the c ...

in the summer of 1925, leaving them at the end of the 1926–27 season. He later played for Weymouth, Peterborough & Fletton United and Stamford Town. After retirement, Allen went on to work for West Ham Corporation, and later owned a newsagents in

East Ham East Ham is a district of the London Borough of Newham, England, 8 miles (12.8 km) east of Charing Cross. Within the boundaries of the Historic counties of England, historic county of Essex, East Ham is identified in the London Plan as a ...

References

1895 births 1969 deaths Footballers from the London Borough of Newham People from West Ham English men's footballers Men's association football wing halves West Ham United F.C. players Lincoln City F.C. players Northampton Town F.C. players Weymouth F.C. players Peterborough & Fletton United F.C. players English Football League players British Army personnel of World War I Military personnel from the London Borough of Newham 20th-century English sportsmen {{England-footy-forward-1890s-stub