Alexander Gibbon Allen (1882-1916)
South Shields man was killed serving with the Canadian Army
Alexander was one of nine children born to ship broker Robert Stephenson Allen and his wife Isabel in South Shields between 1869 and 1886. He was the youngest son and was born in 1884. He attended South Shields High School between 1890–98 and then found work as a commercial clerk.
In March 1906, five years after his mother died, Alexander left for Canada with the intention of becoming a farmer. He applied for a Homestead Grant and by the time of the 1911 Canadian census was farming in Wishart, Saskatchewan. At the beginning of January 1915 Alexander enlisted in the Canadian Expeditionary Force (CEF) in Melville, Saskatchewan. He became Private 424380 attached to the 45th Battalion. When he arrived in England on 13 September 1915 Alexander was transferred to the 30th Battalion based at Shorncliffe Camp, Kent.
On 23 April 1916 Alexander was transferred to the 28th Battalion serving in France and Flanders and saw fighting at Ypres and the Somme. On the first day of the Battle of Flers–Courcelette Alexander lost his life. The Circumstance of Casualty form reads “killed instantly by a shell after reaching final objective in attack on the morning of 15 September 1916 at Courcelette” followed by the note “buried where he fell”.
Alexander is one of 11,285 Canadians killed in France whose burial place is unknown and he is remembered on the Canadian National Vimy Memorial, France.
Civil Parish: South Shields
Birth date: 12-Oct-1882
Death date: 15-Sep-1916
Armed force/civilian: Army
Residence: 4 Westoe Crescent, South Shields (1882 birthplace)
Wishart, Saskatchewan, Canada (1915 enlistment papers)
Education: South Shields High School
Religion: Church of England
Employment: Commercial clerk (1901 census)
Farmer (1915 enlistment papers)
Family: Parents: Robert Stephenson Allen, Isabel Allen nee Gibbon
Siblings: Dora Allen, Margaret E Allen, Isabel Allen, Marion Beck Allen, Maud Allen, Robert Stephenson Allen, Florence Allen, Constance Allen
Military service:
424380
Private
45th Battalion, CEF
30th Battalion, CEF
28th Battalion, CEF
Memorial(s): Canadian National Vimy Memorial, France
South Shields High School Roll of Honour (information from Peter Hoy)
Gender: Male
Contributed by Jean Longstaff, Durham
