Leslie Holdsworth Allen (21 June 1879 – 5 January 1964) was an

Australian Australian(s) may refer to: Australia * Australia, a country * Australians, citizens of the Commonwealth of Australia ** European Australians ** Anglo-Celtic Australians, Australians descended principally from British colonists ** Aboriginal A ...

academic and poet. He was Professor of

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

at the

Royal Military College, Duntroon lit: Learning promotes strength , established = , type = Military college , chancellor = , head_label = Commandant , head = Brigadier Ana Duncan , principal = , city = Campbell , state = ...

, the senior lecturer of English and

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

Canberra University College Canberra University College was a tertiary education institution established in Canberra by the Australian government and the University of Melbourne in 1930. At first it operated in the Telopea Park School premises after hours. Most of the initi ...

and chairman of the Literature Censorship Board.

Early life

Allen was born in

Maryborough, Victoria Maryborough () is a town in Victoria, Australia, on the Pyrenees Highway, north of Ballarat and northwest of Melbourne, in the Shire of Central Goldfields. At the 2016 census, it had a population of 7,921. History The area was originally ...

, the second son of

William Allen William Allen may refer to: Politicians United States *William Allen (congressman) (1827–1881), United States Representative from Ohio *William Allen (governor) (1803–1879), U.S. Representative, Senator, and 31st Governor of Ohio *William ...

, a

Congregational Congregational churches (also Congregationalist churches or Congregationalism) are Protestant churches in the Calvinist tradition practising congregationalist church governance, in which each congregation independently and autonomously runs its ...

minister and the older brother of Sir Carleton Allen. He was eleven when his family moved to

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

where he attended

Newington College , motto_translation = To Faith Add Knowledge , location = Inner West and Lower North Shore of Sydney, New South Wales , country = Australia , coordinates = , pushpin_map = A ...

(1894–1899). He later attended the

University of Sydney The University of Sydney (USYD), also known as Sydney University, or informally Sydney Uni, is a public research university located in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in Australia and is one of the country's si ...

and the

University of Leipzig Leipzig University (german: Universität Leipzig), in Leipzig in Saxony, Germany, is one of the world's oldest universities and the second-oldest university (by consecutive years of existence) in Germany. The university was founded on 2 Decemb ...

Academic career

In 1911, Allen was appointed as a senior lecturer in classics and English at

Sydney Teachers College The Sydney Teachers' College was a tertiary education institution that trained school teachers in Sydney, Australia. It existed from 1906 until the end of 1981, when it became the Sydney Institute of Education, a part of the new Sydney College o ...

. After his marriage in 1915 to Dora Bavin (sister of Sir

Thomas Bavin Sir Thomas Rainsford Bavin, (5 May 1874 – 31 August 1941) was an Australian lawyer and politician who served as Premier of New South Wales from 1927 to 1930. He was born in New Zealand and arrived in Australia at the age of 15, where he stud ...

, Lancelot Bavin and Major Cyril Bavin OBE) he became professor of English at the Royal Military College, Duntroon. During his tenue at Duntroon he produced plays for the

Canberra Canberra ( ) is the capital city of Australia. Founded following the federation of the colonies of Australia as the seat of government for the new nation, it is Australia's largest inland city and the eighth-largest city overall. The ci ...

Society of Arts and Literature and wrote poetry and children's verse. In 1931, he became the sole lecturer in English and classics at Canberra University College (now the

Australian National University The Australian National University (ANU) is a public research university located in Canberra, the capital of Australia. Its main campus in Acton encompasses seven teaching and research colleges, in addition to several national academies and ...

Censorship

Allen was appointed in 1933 as a member of the Commonwealth Book Censorship Advisory Committee. From 1937 he was chairman of the Literature Censorship Board.

Family life

His wife Dora was tubercular and she died in 1932 predeceased by their only son. On his death in

Moruya, New South Wales Moruya is a town located on the far south coast of New South Wales, Australia, situated on the Moruya River. The Princes Highway runs through the town that is about south of Sydney and from Canberra. At the , Moruya had a population of 4,295 ...

, he was survived by his only daughter.

Honours

The Haydon-Allen Lecture Theatre is in part a memorial to his work at the Australian National University.ANU - Campus Map
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Publications

*''Gods and Wood-Things'' (1913) *''Phaedra: and Other Poems'' (1921) *''Araby: and Other Poems'' (1924) *''Patria'' (1941)

Selected works

*'' To our beloved dead'' (1922)

References

1879 births 1964 deaths Australian Congregationalists Australian people of English descent People educated at Newington College {{Australia-academic-bio-stub Australian poets