Eleanor Marian Dundas Allen (18 January 1892 – 12 September 1953GRO Registry of Deaths, UK.) was a British writer, the author of the poem now known as "''The Wind on the Downs''" published in a small 63-page book of poems of the same name. Allen was born at Toxteth Park (now St Scholastica's School), Glebe, Sydney, the daughter of George Boyce Allen, a barrister, and Isabella Dundas Allen.

Life

Allen was born at Toxteth Park, the Sydney family estate of the Allen family who were prominent in the colony of

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. The patriarch, George Allen, who had died in 1877, was himself the son of the physician of

George III George III (George William Frederick; 4 June 173829 January 1820) was King of Great Britain and of Ireland from 25 October 1760 until the union of the two kingdoms on 1 January 1801, after which he was King of the United Kingdom of Great Br ...

and had established the oldest law firm in Australia. By 1908, the parents of Marian Allen with their family of six children (three boys and three girls) were living in Woodstock Road,

Oxford Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

, England. It was here in 1913–14 that Marian first met Arthur Tylston Greg, whom she was to have married and to whom, under the initials A. T. G. her book of poems was dedicated. Like Marian Allen's brother, George Dundas Allen, Arthur Greg was studying Law at

New College, Oxford New College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1379 by William of Wykeham in conjunction with Winchester College as its feeder school, New College is one of the oldest colleges at th ...

and it seems likely that they first met when Arthur Greg visited his fellow student's house. In August 1914, on the outbreak of

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, Arthur Greg and Dundas (as Marian Allen's brother was known) abandoned their studies and joined the army. Arthur fought in the battles around the Hill 60 in Belgium and in May 1915 was badly wounded when part of his lower jaw was shot away. By 1916, Dundas Allen had joined the

Royal Flying Corps "Through Adversity to the Stars" , colors = , colours_label = , march = , mascot = , anniversaries = , decorations ...

and was awarded the

Military Cross The Military Cross (MC) is the third-level (second-level pre-1993) military decoration awarded to officers and (since 1993) other ranks of the British Armed Forces, and formerly awarded to officers of other Commonwealth countries. The MC i ...

. Arthur Greg also joined the Royal Flying Corps where, as Captain Greg, he trained to fly the D.H.4

bomber A bomber is a military combat aircraft designed to attack ground and naval targets by dropping air-to-ground weaponry (such as bombs), launching aerial torpedo, torpedoes, or deploying air-launched cruise missiles. The first use of bombs dropped ...

.Photograph
Flickr. He was shot down over

St Quentin Saint Quentin ( la, Quintinus; died 287 AD) also known as Quentin of Amiens, was an early Christian saint. Hagiography Martyrdom The legend of his life has him as a Roman citizen who was martyred in Gaul. He is said to have been the son of a ...

on St George's Day, 1917. He is buried at Jussy cemetery with the words, "love is stronger than death". Marian Allen heard the news on either 30 April or 1 May, and some of her finest poems, many of them

sonnet A sonnet is a poetic form that originated in the poetry composed at the Court of the Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II in the Sicilian city of Palermo. The 13th-century poet and notary Giacomo da Lentini is credited with the sonnet's invention, ...

s, were written almost immediately afterward. "''To A. T. G.''" was finished on 2 May, and "''I like to think of you...''" on 10 May. In the 1920s, and 1930s, Marian Allen became a successful author/illustrator of children's books such as ''The Wind in the Chimney'', ''Joy Street'' volumes etc., writing mainly for

Blackwell Blackwell may refer to: Places ;Canada * Blackwell, Ontario ;United Kingdom * Blackwell, County Durham, England * Blackwell, Carlisle, Cumbria, England * Blackwell (historic house), South Lakeland, Cumbria, England * Blackwell, Bolsover, Alfre ...

. She also designed the dust wrappers for numbers 5 to 11 of the ''Joy Street'' volumes. During much of this time she was living in London with her family at 35

Harrington Gardens Harrington Gardens is a street which has a communal garden regionally sometimes known as a garden square in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea in London. The street runs from Collingham Gardens and Collingham Road in the east to Glouces ...

(now the London base of

Ithaca College Ithaca College is a private college in Ithaca, New York. It was founded by William Egbert in 1892 as a conservatory of music and is set against the backdrop of the city of Ithaca (which is separate from the town), Cayuga Lake, waterfalls, and go ...

). Later in life, she returned to Woodstock Road in Oxford where she died unmarried on 12 September 1953.

Quotation

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Allen, Marian 1892 births 1953 deaths Writers from Sydney People from Oxford Australian emigrants to England English women poets English children's writers English illustrators 20th-century English poets 20th-century English women writers