Born at Bradfield, Berkshire, on the 14th of February 1826, the son of Henry and Martha Allen. Baptised at Bradfield on the 4th of January 1827.
Enlisted: London, on the 2nd of November 1843.
Age: 17 years 8 months.
Height: 5' 8".
Trade: Labourer.
Features: Fresh complexion. Grey eyes. Brown hair.
From Private to Corporal: 1st of October 1854.
Horse killed under him at Balaclava.
Corporal to Sergeant: 6th of August 1855.
Served at Eupatoria.
Appointed to Troop Sergeant-Major on the 7th of February 1862.
The Canterbury Depot muster rolls show that "No ration payments were made for the time spent on board ship as he was permitted to find his own passage to England to enable him to take up a position in the Yeomanry."
In Turkey and the Crimea, 2 years.
In Canada, 1 year 7 months.
Conduct: "very good." Would have had five Good Conduct badges if not promoted.
Twice entered in the Regimental Defaulters' book. Never tried by Court-martial.
Discharge & pension
Discharged from Canterbury on the 18th of June 1868: "Free, at own request, after 24 years service."
Granted a pension of 2/- per day but this was increased to 28d. per day "on ceasing to be on the Permanent Staff of the Staffordshire Yeomanry", 21st of August 1883.
Entitled to the Crimean medal with clasps for Alma, Balaclava, Inkerman and Sebastopol and the Turkish medal.
Awarded the Distinguished Conduct Medal, but it is not known just when or under what circumstances this was awarded.
Awarded the Long Service & Good Conduct medal on the 20th of October 1865 when the regiment was at Norwich, with a Private's gratuity of £5.
Was in receipt of an allowance of 1d. per day for "good swordsmanship," during his service.
His documents confirm the award of the Crimean medal with four clasps, T.M., D.C.M., with an annuity of £10 and the Long Service & Good Conduct medal.
Attended the first Balaclava Banquet in 1875.
Member of the Balaclava Commemoration Society in 1879.
Signed the Loyal Address to the Queen in 1887.
Attended the Annual Dinner in 1892.
He served for 9 years 307 days in the Staffordshire Yeomanry, retiring on the 31st of October 1883.
1881 Census
Queens Arms Public House, 17 Osborne Street, Leek.
John Allen, Innkeeper, aged 55, born at Bradfield, Buckinghamshire, with his wife, Harriet, aged 50, born at Egmond, Shropshire, and three daughters, aged from 17 to 7 years.
From 1887 until his death, Allen was the landlord of the Swan Hotel in Edward Street, Leek.
Died at Leek, Staffordshire, on the 30th of July 1894, and is buried in the cemetery there.
In his will he left his personal estate of £502 to his wife, Harriet.
See copy of his obituary notice taken from the Leek Times for the 3rd of August 1894, in the 13th Hussar file.
From this obituary report comes an account of how he is said to have won the D.C.M. After his horse had been shot and he himself wounded in the knee (he is not shown as such in any of the "official" casualty lists) he was endeavouring to make his way back when he found a fellow trooper engaged in rescuing a wounded officer. He stopped to help and between them they managed to mount the officer on a riderless horse that was fortunately at hand. For this act, Corporal Allen received the much-prized medal for "Distinguished Conduct in the Field", his comrade in bravery receiving the Victoria Cross. [It is not stated who the V.C. winner was.]
Extract from an unknown printed source:
"February 14th sees the anniversary of the birth of a Sergeant-Major who won the D.C.M. at the battle of Balaclava, and later moved to Leek to be licensee of the "Swan Hotel".Sergeant-Major John Allen was born at Englefield, near Reading, Berkshire, on the 14th of February 1828. [sic] From boyhood he had a strong inclination for the Army and when 17 years of age he enlisted into the 13th Light Dragoons (later renamed Hussars) and remained in the same regiment until he claimed his discharge in Canada in 1868. During this long service he was stationed in barracks in nearly every major city in England, Scotland and Ireland, but it was not until 1854 that his career reached its peak.
Crimean campaign - His regiment was one of the first to be ordered out to the Crimea, and he took part in all the great battles of that campaign, including the most famous of them all - the 'Charge of the Light Brigade'.
He was Corporal Allen then, and was in the front rank of the famous charge and consequently in the centre of the frightful carnage which followed.
As he neared the Russian batteries at the end of the 'Valley of Death' his horse was shot and he himself received a bullet wound in the leg.
On foot, he turned to go back to the British lines and came across a fellow trooper, Joseph Malone, [sic] trying to rescue a wounded officer. Corporal Allen stopped to help and between them they managed to get the officer on a riderless horse which they had caught and on it took him back to their own lines.
For that gallantry he was awarded the Distinguished Conduct medal and the trooper he had stopped to help received the Victoria Cross. He had entered this battle as a Corporal and left it as Sergeant, having been promoted on the field of battle. [Not true - EJB.]
He rarely ever talked about this battle, or the others in which he took part, confining his remarks to "having been one of the lucky ones." But he was the proud possessor of four medals - that for the Crimean War with Alma, Balaclava, Inkerman and Sebastopol bars bearing the 1854 date; the Turkish War Medal 1855; the D.C.M., and one for Long Service and Good Conduct.
The abortive Fenian raid upon Canada in 1866 took the 13th Light Dragoons to that country, serving at Montreal and Toronto, and where Sergeant-Major Allen experienced the rigours of a bitter Canadian white winter.
While at Toronto his term of service expired and in April of 1868, immediately after his return to this country, he took his discharge and took up residence at Leek, where his long and distinguished service and high character had earned him the post of Troop Sergeant-Major to the Leek and Biddulph Queen's Own Yeomanry.
Cricket Club Captain - He served the Leek and Biddulph Troop for nearly twenty years, and in Leek was also captain of the Church Cricket Club.
For the last seven years of his life he was licensee of the "Swan Hotel", where he died on the 30th of July 1894, aged 68. His funeral had full military honours, the route from the "Swan" being thickly lined with people and a firing-party of nearly twenty soldiers fired three rounds over his grave."
The report of his death published in the Leek Times, 5th of August 1894, commented:
"Although his portly figure and fine military presence will be seen no more amongst us, his gallant and blameless life will keep his memory ever-green...Sergeant-Major Allen's medals were kindly donated to the Nicholson Museum by Miss M. Moreton of Leeds, who inherited them [sic] and his tomb in Leek Cemetery is kept in good condition by well-wishers."
Although it is said that a Crimean medal and other items formerly belonging to John Allen are in the Nicholson Museum at Leek, an enquiry of the present Council authorities in 1991 brought no response. Following further letters on the subject a reply was eventually received to the effect that "the only item held relating to Sergeant-Major Allen was a funeral card dated the 2nd August 1894 and that the Authority was unaware of any medals belonging to him."
The reference to Joseph Malone (also of the 13th L.D.), who was awarded the Victoria Cross, and of John Allen's stopping to help him, bears a great similarity to the part played by James Lamb (13th L.D.) in the rescue of Captain Webb of the 17th Lancers.
The memorial stone to him in Leek Cemetery is inscribed:
"To the memory of a brave soldier, Sergeant-Major John Allen, who rode in the ranks of the 13th Light Dragoons at the charge of Balaclava, October 25th 1854. He died at Leek, July 30th 1894, aged 68 years. Erected to his memory by a few of the townsmen and past and present officers and men of the Leek Troop of the Staffs. "Queen's Own" Royal Yeomanry of which he was for many years Sergeant-Major." Also, on the side of the pillar: "In loving memory of Harriet, widow of the late Sergeant-Major John Allen, who died March 16th 1896, aged 66 years."
(See photograph of this gravestone in the 13th Hussar file.)