Painter, notably in tempera, especially of Derbyshire. Born in Sheffield, Allen attended King Edward VII School for boys, then became a clerk in the steel works of Arthur Balfour, in his spare time attending Sheffield Technical School of Art. Served in the Army in World War I, gaining the Military Medal for conspicuous gallantry. Although badly injured and having an artificial leg Allen continued to paint and became Balfour’s confidential secretary until the slump made Allen redundant in 1931. He now painted full-time and joined the new Yorkshire Group of Artists. Began exhibiting RA. Also showed with RSBA and PS. Although Allen’s early work is conventionally realistic he soon developed his distinctive style of simplified landscape and figure studies, which eventually were shown abroad in Canada and America.