Allen was born into a clerical family, being the eldest son of The Reverend T.K. Allen, sometime Vicar of Weyhill.[1] He was educated at Cheltenham College, later serving as a member of the college council (1923–51) and president of the college (1939–51).[1] He was a scholar of Wadham College, Oxford, earning first-class honours in the Final Honour School of Theology in 1908, and in 1910 being elected Denyer and Johnson Theological Scholar and receiving the Ellerton Essay Prize. He studied briefly at Wells Theological College in 1908 and was ordained deacon the same year, when he had just satisfied the canonical requirement for candidates for ordination to have attained twenty-three years of age. Both his youth and the brevity of his training were quite normal at the time.
His first appointment was as Chaplain to Wadham (1908–10)[1] and he was ordained priest in 1909. From 1910 until 1920 he was Fellow, Dean, and Chaplain of Pembroke College (Honorary Fellow 1934).[2] He was Temporary Chaplain to the Forces 1917-18 and Chaplain to the Royal Air Force 1918–19. He had previously served in the Great War with the YMCA. As a TCF, he was based at Rugeley camp[3] and, when he transferred into the RAF, he was posted to an Aerial Gunnery School at Turnberry in Ayrshire[4] In 1920 he returned to Oxford as Senior Proctor (1920–21) and Principal of St Edmund Hall (1920–28; Honorary Fellow 1942), assuming office at the age of just thirty-five.[5] From 1923 until 1928 he was a member of the Hebdomadal Council of the University of Oxford.
Because of his scholarly qualifications, he was seriously considered for several diocesan bishoprics in England, including Guildford in 1934,[10] Portsmouth in 1941 and Gloucester in 1945.[11] The reasons why he was unsuccessful are summarised by the Prime Minister's secretary, Anthony Bevir, in his advice to Winston Churchill, the key figure in the appointments process, regarding Portsmouth.
"...Bishop of Dorchester (Puffles Allen), though intelligent, is not a dignified figure...there is a stepmother who would do better justice to Barchester than to Portsmouth..."[12]
It appears that Allen's cherubic appearance and his tactless stepmother damaged his chances of more senior appointments
A man with the widest sympathies and the most excellent personal relations,[13] he resigned in 1952 and died in retirement at Cheltenham four years later.
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This article is about the scholar priest and bishop For the politician see Gerald Allen politician For the ichthyologist see Gerald R Allen Gerald Burton Allen 1885 1956 was a British scholar and a Church of England priest and bishop The Right ReverendGerald AllenBishop of DorchesterDioceseDiocese of OxfordIn office1939 1952 ret Predecessorhimself as Assistant Bishop of Oxford SuccessorKenneth RichesOther post s Bishop of Sherborne 1928 1936 Assistant Bishop of Oxford 1936 1939 Archdeacon of Oxford and Canon of Christ Church 1936 1952 OrdersOrdination1908 deacon Consecration1928Personal detailsBorn1885 1885 Died1956 aged 70 71 NationalityBritishDenominationAnglicanAlma materWadham College OxfordLife editAllen was born into a clerical family being the eldest son of The Reverend T K Allen sometime Vicar of Weyhill 1 He was educated at Cheltenham College later serving as a member of the college council 1923 51 and president of the college 1939 51 1 He was a scholar of Wadham College Oxford earning first class honours in the Final Honour School of Theology in 1908 and in 1910 being elected Denyer and Johnson Theological Scholar and receiving the Ellerton Essay Prize He studied briefly at Wells Theological College in 1908 and was ordained deacon the same year when he had just satisfied the canonical requirement for candidates for ordination to have attained twenty three years of age Both his youth and the brevity of his training were quite normal at the time His first appointment was as Chaplain to Wadham 1908 10 1 and he was ordained priest in 1909 From 1910 until 1920 he was Fellow Dean and Chaplain of Pembroke College Honorary Fellow 1934 2 He was Temporary Chaplain to the Forces 1917 18 and Chaplain to the Royal Air Force 1918 19 He had previously served in the Great War with the YMCA As a TCF he was based at Rugeley camp 3 and when he transferred into the RAF he was posted to an Aerial Gunnery School at Turnberry in Ayrshire 4 In 1920 he returned to Oxford as Senior Proctor 1920 21 and Principal of St Edmund Hall 1920 28 Honorary Fellow 1942 assuming office at the age of just thirty five 5 From 1923 until 1928 he was a member of the Hebdomadal Council of the University of Oxford He was consecrated a bishop shortly before 11 May 1928 at Lambeth Palace chapel 6 From 1928 until 1936 he was the second Bishop of Sherborne a suffragan bishop in the Diocese of Salisbury 7 He returned to Oxford in 1936 where he was Archdeacon of Oxford and Canon of Christ Church until 1952 He was also Assistant Bishop of Oxford until 1939 when the suffragan See of Dorchester was created for him and to make permanent the assistance he provided the Bishop diocesan The suffragan See was erected by Order in Council under the Suffragans Nomination Act 1888 on 2 February 1939 8 and Allen was nominated to it by Letters Patent dated 27 February 9 Because of his scholarly qualifications he was seriously considered for several diocesan bishoprics in England including Guildford in 1934 10 Portsmouth in 1941 and Gloucester in 1945 11 The reasons why he was unsuccessful are summarised by the Prime Minister s secretary Anthony Bevir in his advice to Winston Churchill the key figure in the appointments process regarding Portsmouth Bishop of Dorchester Puffles Allen though intelligent is not a dignified figure there is a stepmother who would do better justice to Barchester than to Portsmouth 12 It appears that Allen s cherubic appearance and his tactless stepmother damaged his chances of more senior appointmentsA man with the widest sympathies and the most excellent personal relations 13 he resigned in 1952 and died in retirement at Cheltenham four years later References edit nbsp Christianity portal a b c Who was Who The Times 1910 Index Card Museum of Army Chaplaincy TNA Service Record WO374 1099 The Times 1951 The Universities Oxford Church Times No 3407 11 May 1981 p 549 ISSN 0009 658X Retrieved 9 March 2021 via UK Press Online archives The Times 1936 No 34596 The London Gazette 7 February 1939 p 835 No 34604 The London Gazette 3 March 1939 p 1463 Lambeth Palace Library Lang Papers 126 TNA PREM5 304 TNA PREM5 292 The Times 1956 Sources editThe Times 1910 University Intelligence The University Endowment Fund Thursday 19 May 39276 p 3 col C The Times 1936 Ecclesiastical News 21 August 47459 p 13 col G The Times 1951 St Edmund Hall Oxford Institution of New Principal 13 October 52131 p 8 col F The Times 1956 Dr G B Allen Former Bishop of Dorchester 29 March 53492 p 14 col D Who was Who 1991 Who was who A cumulated index 1897 1990 CD ROM London A amp C Black ISBN 0 7136 3457 X Church of England titles Preceded byRobert Abbott Bishop of Sherborne1928 1936 Succeeded byMaurice Key Preceded byhimselfas Assistant Bishop of Oxford Bishop of Dorchester1939 1952 Succeeded byKenneth Riches Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Gerald Allen amp oldid 1175829573, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
