Ralph Allen (August 25, 1913 – December 2, 1966) was a Canadian journalist, editor, and novelist. Born in

Winnipeg Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Manitoba. It is centred on the confluence of the Red River of the North, Red and Assiniboine River, Assiniboine rivers. , Winnipeg h ...

Manitoba Manitoba is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada at the Centre of Canada, longitudinal centre of the country. It is Canada's Population of Canada by province and territory, fifth-most populous province, with a population ...

, Allen was raised and educated in

Oxbow, Saskatchewan Oxbow is a town in the southeast of the province of Saskatchewan, Canada. It is located on the Canadian Pacific Railway and on Highway 18. It is approximately west of Saskatchewan's border with Manitoba and approximately north of the Canad ...

. At sixteen he became a sports reporter for '' The Winnipeg Tribune'', before moving to Toronto's renowned ''

The Globe and Mail ''The Globe and Mail'' is a Newspapers in Canada, Canadian newspaper printed in five cities in Western Canada, western and central Canada. With a weekly readership of more than 6 million in 2024, it is Canada's most widely read newspaper on week ...

'' where he served as a war correspondent during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. In 1946, he joined news magazine ''

Maclean's ''Maclean's'' is a Canadian magazine founded in 1905 which reports on Canadian issues such as politics, pop culture, trends and current events. Its founder, publisher John Bayne Maclean, established the magazine to provide a uniquely Canadian ...

'', becoming editor in 1950. He left Maclean's in 1960 and worked for ''

The Toronto Star The ''Toronto Star'' is a Canadian English-language broadsheet daily newspaper. It is owned by Toronto Star Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary of Torstar Corporation and part of Torstar's Daily News Brands division. The newspaper was establis ...

'' from 1964 until his death in 1966. Allen was the author of several books, including the novel ''Peace River Country'' (1958) and ''Ordeal by Fire: Canada, 1910-1945'' (1961), a history of Canada during the period of the two world wars. In 1967, Christina McCall edited a collection of Allen's newspaper and magazine columns entitled ''The Man From Oxbow''. Oxbow's town museum is named in Allen's honour. He was inducted into the

Canadian Football Hall of Fame The Canadian Football Hall of Fame (CFHOF) is a not-for-profit corporation, located in Hamilton, Ontario, that celebrates achievements in Canadian football. It is maintained by the Canadian Football League (CFL). It includes displays about the CFL, ...

in 1990.

Books by Allen

* ''Home Made Banners'' (Toronto, London, New York: Longmans, Green and Co., 1946), a novel about

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

* ''The Chartered Libertine'' (Toronto: Macmillan, 1954), a novel about the

CBC CBC may refer to: Media * Cadena Baja California or Grupo Cadena, a radio and television broadcaster in Mexico * Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, Canada's radio and television public broadcaster ** CBC Television ** CBC Radio One ** CBC Music ** ...

* ''Peace River Country'' (Garden City, NY: Doubleday & Company, Inc., 1958), a novel about a family's search for a home in Canada's Peace River Country * ''Ordeal by Fire: Canada, 1910-1945'' (Toronto: Doubleday Canada Limited, 1961), a history of Canada from

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 ...

* ''Ask the Name of the Lion'' (Garden City, NY: Doubleday & Company, Inc., 1962), a novel about conflict in the Congo * ''The High White Forest'' (Garden City, NY: Doubleday & Company, Inc., 1964), a novel about Canadians in the

Battle of the Bulge The Battle of the Bulge, also known as the Ardennes Offensive or Unternehmen Die Wacht am Rhein, Wacht am Rhein, was the last major German Offensive (military), offensive Military campaign, campaign on the Western Front (World War II), Western ...

* ''The Man from Oxbow: The Best of Ralph Allen'' (Toronto, Montreal: McClelland and Stewart Limited, 1967), a collection of some of Allen's newspaper and magazine columns, edited with an introduction by Christina McCall Newman

External links

Ralph Allen
at

The Canadian Encyclopedia ''The Canadian Encyclopedia'' (TCE; ) is the national encyclopedia of Canada, published online by the Toronto-based historical organization Historica Canada, with financial support by the federal Department of Canadian Heritage and Society of Com ...

*
Ralph Allen
at the

Maclean's: The First 100 Years
{{DEFAULTSORT:Allen, Ralph 1913 births 1966 deaths 20th-century Canadian male writers 20th-century Canadian novelists Canadian Football Hall of Fame inductees Canadian magazine editors Canadian male journalists Canadian male novelists Journalists from Winnipeg Journalists from Saskatchewan Maclean's writers and editors Novelists from Manitoba Novelists from Saskatchewan People from Oxbow, Saskatchewan Writers from Winnipeg