Robert Calder Allen (8 August 1812 – 28 January 1903) was an English

naval A navy, naval force, military maritime fleet, war navy, or maritime force is the branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral, or ocean-borne combat operatio ...

captain. Allen was the son of William Allen, a master in the navy and presumably a follower of Admiral Sir

Robert Calder Admiral Sir Robert Calder, 1st Baronet, (2 July 174531 August 1818) was a Royal Navy officer who served in the Seven Years' War, the American Revolutionary War, the French Revolutionary Wars and the Napoleonic Wars. For much of his career he w ...

. He entered the navy as a second-class volunteer in July 1827. In that grade and as second master he served with credit, principally on the west coast of Africa and in China. In 1841 he was advanced to be master, and in 1842-44 was master of the ''

Dido Dido ( ; , ), also known as Elissa ( , ), was the legendary founder and first queen of the Phoenician city-state of Carthage (located in Tunisia), in 814 BC. In most accounts, she was the queen of the Phoenician city-state of Tyre (located ...

'', with Sir

Henry Keppel Admiral of the Fleet Sir Henry Keppel, (14 June 1809 – 17 January 1904) was a Royal Navy officer. His first command was largely spent off the coast of Spain, which was then in the midst of the First Carlist War. As commanding officer of the co ...

, in her celebrated cruises against the Malay pirates of

Borneo Borneo () is the List of islands by area, third-largest island in the world, with an area of , and population of 23,053,723 (2020 national censuses). Situated at the geographic centre of Maritime Southeast Asia, it is one of the Greater Sunda ...

. In 1850-51, he was master of the ''

Resolute Resolute may refer to: Geography * Resolute, Nunavut, Canada, a hamlet * Resolute Bay, Nunavut * Resolute Mountain, Alberta, Canada Military operations * Operation Resolute, the Australian Defence Force contribution to patrolling Australia's Exc ...

'' in the Arctic, under Captain Austin, whom he followed from the '' Blenheim'', and was in charge of the magnetic observations. In 1854-55 he was master of the '' Hogue''

blockship A blockship is a ship deliberately sunk to prevent a river, channel, or canal from being used as a waterway. It may either be sunk by a navy defending the waterway to prevent the ingress of attacking enemy forces, as in the case of at Portland ...

in the Baltic, and rendered efficient service by his survey, often under fire, of the approaches to Bomarsund. In 1863 he was promoted to the then new rank of staff-commander, and in 1867 to that of staff-captain. In 1866-67 he was master-attendant and harbour-master at

Malta Malta, officially the Republic of Malta, is an island country in Southern Europe located in the Mediterranean Sea, between Sicily and North Africa. It consists of an archipelago south of Italy, east of Tunisia, and north of Libya. The two ...

; and in 1867 was appointed in the same capacity to Devonport, from where he was transferred to

Deptford Deptford is an area on the south bank of the River Thames in southeast London, in the Royal Borough of Greenwich and London Borough of Lewisham. It is named after a Ford (crossing), ford of the River Ravensbourne. From the mid 16th century ...

. When that dockyard was closed in October 1870, he retired with the rank of captain. He was a silent, thoughtful man, singularly modest and retiring. The subordinate position in which so much of his service was passed prevented his name from coming prominently before the public; but in the navy his reputation as a sound and skilful navigator and pilot stood very high, and was officially recognised in his nomination to C.B. in 1877. He died in London in 1903.

Personal life

Allen married twice. His first wife brought him a daughter and four sons, who all entered the public service, navy, army, or marines. The second wife survived him.

References

;Attribution {{DEFAULTSORT:Allen, Robert Calder 1812 births 1903 deaths Companions of the Order of the Bath Royal Navy captains