John Manchester Allen (3 August 1901 – 28 November 1941) was a New Zealand politician of the National Party. He also served in the Second World War and commanded the 21st Battalion from May 1941 until he was killed in action in Libya.

Biography

Allen was born in Cheadle, Staffordshire, England, in 1901. His father, John Candlish Allen, died in France in 1917 from wounds received in the First World War. His uncles were

Stephen Allen Stephen Allen (July 2, 1767 – July 28, 1852) was an American politician from New York. Biography Orphaned by the death of his parent(s) in the Revolutionary War, Allen grew to become a wealthy sailmaker. He was the 55th Mayor of New York ...

and William Allen, and his grandfather was William Shepherd Allen. He was educated at King's College, Auckland, and at

Pembroke College, Cambridge Pembroke College (officially "The Master, Fellows and Scholars of the College or Hall of Valence-Mary") is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge, England. The college is the third-oldest college of the university and has over 700 ...

where he graduated with MA and

LLB Bachelor of Laws ( la, Legum Baccalaureus; LL.B.) is an undergraduate law degree in the United Kingdom and most common law jurisdictions. Bachelor of Laws is also the name of the law degree awarded by universities in the China, People's Republic ...

degrees. He was a farmer in Morrinsville, and an

Anglican Anglicanism is a Western Christian tradition that has developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the context of the Protestant Reformation in Europe. It is one of th ...

lay reader. He represented the

Hauraki Hauraki is a suburb located on the southern North Shore of Auckland, the largest metropolitan city in New Zealand. It is under the local governance of the Auckland Council. History The traditional name for the western coastline in Hauraki wa ...

electorate from to 1941, when he died. Following the outbreak of the Second World War, he volunteered to serve with the

2nd New Zealand Expeditionary Force The New Zealand Expeditionary Force (NZEF) was the title of the military forces sent from New Zealand to fight alongside other British Empire and Dominion troops during World War I (1914–1918) and World War II (1939–1945). Ultimately, the NZE ...

and was posted to 18th Battalion as its second-in-command. He was in Crete as commander of the 21st Battalion before being killed in action during an offensive in Libya. He was succeeded in the Hauraki electorate by

Andy Sutherland Andrew Sinclair Sutherland (13 September 1882 – 2 May 1961) was a New Zealand politician of the National Party. Biography Sutherland was born in 1882 in Palmerston, Otago. He was a member of the 9th New Zealand contingent (1902) to th ...

, who won the resulting .

Notes

References

* * * * 1901 births 1941 deaths Alumni of Pembroke College, Cambridge English emigrants to New Zealand New Zealand Anglicans New Zealand farmers New Zealand National Party MPs New Zealand military personnel killed in World War II New Zealand people of World War II People educated at King's College, Auckland People from Morrinsville Members of the New Zealand House of Representatives New Zealand MPs for North Island electorates People from Cheadle, Staffordshire 20th-century New Zealand politicians Anglican lay readers Military personnel from Staffordshire {{NewZealand-mil-bio-stub