Lieutenant, Black Watch
Born: 17 September 1919
Died: 8 March 1943
Age at Death: 23
Father - A.H. Allen, Egyptian Government Official
Address - 23 Rue Gorst, Buckley and Ramleh, Alexandria, Egypt.
Michael Allen was born in Cubert, Cornwall, on 17 September 1919 to Arthur Allen, a British government official serving as Inspector for the Ministry of Communications in Egypt, and his wife Norah (née Byrne-Grant). Allen was a House Prefect, played for the 2nd XV, and competed for the Swimming VIII. He was also strong academically, receiving an ‘A’ in the School Certificate exam.
During the war Allen served in the Gordon Highlanders and then the 1st Battalion of the Black Watch. In 1942 he was posted to Egypt, where he took part in the victorious Second Battle of El Alamein. During this action he was wounded and awarded the Military Cross for bravery. The citation for the award included the lines:
On the night of the 23/24 October 1942 South of Tel El Eisa this officer led his platoon successfully onto the final objective. During the advance he displayed great courage in the mêlées and hand-to-hand fighting which took place. Although wounded he continued to fight on, killing several of the enemy with his own bayonet and refusing to be pushed back until it was obvious that he could go on no longer.
Alan recuperated from his wounds until February 1943. By this time the Allies had pushed far to the west into Tunisia where, on 6 March, Axis forces launched a counter-attack against the British Army at the Battle of Medenine. The British managed to defend their position. However, their very success was instrumental in Allen’s death: he took charge of some Italians who were surrendering, but as he approached the group one of them threw a grenade, seriously wounding him. Allen died the next day and is buried in Sfax Cemetery, Tunisia.