Gerald Burton Allen (1885–1956) was a British scholar and a

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Britain ...

priest and bishop.

Life

Allen was born into a clerical family, being the eldest son of The Reverend T.K. Allen, sometime

Vicar A vicar (; Latin: ''vicarius'') is a representative, deputy or substitute; anyone acting "in the person of" or agent for a superior (compare "vicarious" in the sense of "at second hand"). Linguistically, ''vicar'' is cognate with the English pref ...

Weyhill Weyhill is a village, 2.5 miles (3.8 km) west of Andover, Hampshire. It sits within the civil parish of Penton Grafton, which includes the village of the same name. The village is famous for having a medieval fair and then later a livestock ...

.Who was Who He was educated at

Cheltenham College ("Work Conquers All") , established = , closed = , type = Public schoolIndependent School Day and Boarding School , religion = Church of England , president = , head_label = Head , head = Nicola Huggett ...

, later serving as a member of the college council (1923–51) and president of the college (1939–51). He was a scholar of

Wadham College, Oxford Wadham College () is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. It is located in the centre of Oxford, at the intersection of Broad Street and Parks Road. Wadham College was founded in 1610 by Dorothy W ...

, earning first-class honours in the Final Honour School of Theology in 1908, and in 1910 being elected Denyer and Johnson Theological Scholar and receiving the Ellerton Essay Prize. He studied briefly at Wells Theological College in 1908 and was ordained deacon the same year, when he had just satisfied the

canonical The adjective canonical is applied in many contexts to mean "according to the canon" the standard, rule or primary source that is accepted as authoritative for the body of knowledge or literature in that context. In mathematics, "canonical example ...

requirement for candidates for ordination to have attained twenty-three years of age. Both his youth and the brevity of his training were quite normal at the time. His first appointment was as Chaplain to Wadham (1908–10) and he was ordained priest in 1909. From 1910 until 1920 he was Fellow, Dean, and Chaplain of Pembroke College (Honorary Fellow 1934). He was Temporary Chaplain to the Forces 1917-18 and Chaplain to the

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and ...

1918–19. He had previously served in the Great War with the YMCA. As a TCF, he was based at Rugeley camp and, when he transferred into the RAF, he was posted to an Aerial Gunnery School at Turnberry in Ayrshire In 1920 he returned to

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 ...

Senior Proctor Proctor (a variant of ''procurator'') is a person who takes charge of, or acts for, another. The title is used in England and some other English-speaking countries in three principal contexts: * In law, a proctor is a historical class of lawye ...

(1920–21) and Principal of St Edmund Hall (1920–28; Honorary Fellow 1942), assuming office at the age of just thirty-five. From 1923 until 1928 he was a member of the

Hebdomadal Council The Hebdomadal Council was the chief executive body for the University of Oxford from its establishment by the Oxford University Act 1854 until its replacement, in the Michaelmas term of 2000, by the new University Council. Chaired by the Vice- ...

of the

University of Oxford , mottoeng = The Lord is my light , established = , endowment = £6.1 billion (including colleges) (2019) , budget = £2.145 billion (2019–20) , chancellor ...

. He was consecrated a bishop shortly before 11 May 1928, at

Lambeth Palace chapel Lambeth Palace is the official London residence of the Archbishop of Canterbury. It is situated in north Lambeth, London, on the south bank of the River Thames, south-east of the Palace of Westminster, which houses Parliament, on the opposite ...

. From 1928 until 1936 he was the second

Bishop of Sherborne The Bishop of Sherborne is an episcopal title which takes its name from the market town of Sherborne in Dorset, England. The see of Sherborne was established in around 705 by St Aldhelm, the Abbot of Malmesbury. This see was the mother diocese o ...

suffragan bishop A suffragan bishop is a type of bishop in some Christian denominations. In the Anglican Communion, a suffragan bishop is a bishop who is subordinate to a metropolitan bishop or diocesan bishop (bishop ordinary) and so is not normally jurisdiction ...

in the

Diocese of Salisbury The Diocese of Salisbury is a Church of England diocese in the south of England, within the ecclesiastical Province of Canterbury. The diocese covers most of Dorset (excepting the deaneries of Bournemouth and Christchurch, which fall within t ...

). He returned to

in 1936, where he was

Archdeacon of Oxford The Archdeacon of Oxford is a senior ecclesiastical officer in the Diocese of Oxford, Church of England, England. The office responsibility includes the care of clergy and church buildings within the area of the ''Archdeaconry of Oxford.'' Histo ...

and Canon of Christ Church until 1952. He was also

Assistant Bishop of Oxford The Bishop of Oxford is the diocesan bishop of the Church of England Diocese of Oxford in the Province of Canterbury; his seat is at Christ Church Cathedral, Oxford. The current bishop is Steven Croft, following the confirmation of his electio ...

until 1939, when the suffragan See of Dorchester was created for him, and to make permanent the assistance he provided the Bishop diocesan. The suffragan See was erected by

Order-in-Council An Order-in-Council is a type of legislation in many countries, especially the Commonwealth realms. In the United Kingdom this legislation is formally made in the name of the monarch by and with the advice and consent of the Privy Council (''Kin ...

(under the

Suffragans Nomination Act 1888 The Suffragan Bishops Act 1534 (26 Hen 8 c 14) is an Act of the Parliament of England that authorised the appointment of suffragan (i.e., assistant) bishops in England and Wales. The tradition of appointing suffragans named after a town in the d ...

) on 2 February 1939 and Allen was nominated to it by

Letters Patent Letters patent ( la, litterae patentes) ( always in the plural) are a type of legal instrument in the form of a published written order issued by a monarch, president or other head of state, generally granting an office, right, monopoly, titl ...

dated 27 February. Because of his scholarly qualifications, he was seriously considered for several diocesan bishoprics in England, including Guildford in 1934, Portsmouth in 1941 and Gloucester in 1945. The reasons why he was unsuccessful are summarised by the Prime Minister's secretary, Anthony Bevir, in his advice to Winston Churchill, the key figure in the appointments process, regarding Portsmouth. "...Bishop of Dorchester (Puffles Allen), though intelligent, is not a dignified figure...there is a stepmother who would do better justice to Barchester than to Portsmouth..." It appears that Allen's cherubic appearance and his tactless stepmother damaged his chances of more senior appointments A man with the widest sympathies and the most excellent personal relations,''The Times'' (1956) he resigned in 1952 and died in retirement at

Cheltenham Cheltenham (), also known as Cheltenham Spa, is a spa town and borough on the edge of the Cotswolds in the county of Gloucestershire, England. Cheltenham became known as a health and holiday spa town resort, following the discovery of mineral s ...

four years later.

References

Sources

* ''The Times'' (1910) "University Intelligence: The University Endowment Fund Thursday", 19 May (39276), p. 3 (col. 'C') * ''The Times'' (1936) "Ecclesiastical News", 21 August (47459), p. 13 (col. 'G') * ''The Times'' (1951) "St Edmund Hall, Oxford: Institution of New Principal", 13 October (52131), p. 8 (col. 'F') * ''The Times'' (1956) "Dr. G. B. Allen Former Bishop of Dorchester", 29 March (53492), p. 14 (col. 'D') * Who was Who (1991) ''Who was who. A cumulated index 1897-1990'', CD-ROM, London : A & C Black, {{DEFAULTSORT:Allen, Gerald Burton 1885 births People educated at Cheltenham College Alumni of Wadham College, Oxford Fellows of Pembroke College, Oxford Principals of St Edmund Hall, Oxford 20th-century Church of England bishops Archdeacons of Oxford Bishops of Sherborne Anglican bishops of Dorchester 1956 deaths Royal Air Force chaplains