Captain William Barnsley Allen (VC, DSO, MC & Bar)(1892 - 1933)

 

Name William Barnsley ALLEN
Rank Major
Force Royal Army Medical Corps attd 246th Brigade Royal Field Artillery
VC  France, 3 September 1916
London Gazette 26 October 1916
Born Sheffield, 8 June 1892
Died 27 August 1933, Bracklesham
Grave Earnley Churchyard, Bracklesham Bay
Location 
of VC		 Army Medical Services Museum, Aldershot
Remarks DSO MC & Bar

                                                                               

 

On 3 September 1916, near Mesnil, France, when gun detachments were unloading high explosive ammunition, the enemy suddenly began to shell the battery position. The first shell fell on one of the limbers, exploded the ammunition and caused several casualties. Captain Allen at once ran across under heavy shell fire and started attending to the wounded. He himself was hit four times by pieces of shell, but he went coolly on with his work until the last man had been attended to and removed. He then went to tend a wounded officer and only then reported his own wounds.
Additional Information: Major Allen also had been awarded the Distinguished Service Order (DSO) as well as the Military Cross (MC) and Bar. He died at the age of 41 on 27th August 1933 in Bracklesham and is buried in the local churchyard..

 

 

 

 

 

The citation on the left is taken from The London Gazette

WILLIAM was born in Sheffield on June 8th 1892 at 14 Botanical Road Sheffield  His father Percy Edwin Allen was a successful commercial traveller and his mother Edith, the daughter of Joseph Barnsley of Taptonville Crescent, Sheffield. He had an elder sister Edith who was born on on 27th July 1890 and a younger sister Barbara who was born four years later on 13th September 1896. The address for the family at the time of Barbara's birth is given as 42 Southgrove Road, Ecclesall, Sheffield. I believe that it was sometime after this that the family moved to the house featured in the photo in Endcliffe Vale Road.

William was educated at what was then St Cuthbert's College, Worksop. In 1908 at the age of 17 he went to Sheffield University. He graduated with a honours degree in June 1914. During his time at the University he was awarded the Gold Medal in Pathology (1913), the Kaye Scholarship for the highest marks in physiology and anatomy and three bronze medals.

 

He joined the Royal Hospital as an assistant house physician but within weeks, he had enlisted with the Third West Riding Field Ambulance. In fact his date of enlistment is given in the records as 8th August 1914,four days after the outbreak of war. He was soon in France

 

In May 1916 whilst on leave he married in Gainsborough, Lincolnshire, MARY YOUNG ("Mollie"), the younger daughter of Mr. W.Y.Mercer Esq.   In August 1916 he was awarded the Military Cross and ten months later in June 1917 he was awarded a bar to the MC. He was invalided to England the same month. In January 1918 he was appointed acting Major but on 18th February 1918 he was transferred to the regular R.A.M.C with the rank of Captain, the rank he held at the conclusion of the war In October 1918 he was wounded for the third time and sent back to England for the second time. This time he was awarded the D.S.O.  Altogether he had served in France for three years and two months.  

From: A Popular History of the Great War' Volume 3By JA Hammerton

The above caption is from 'Deeds that thrilled the Empire', printed in the 1920's.

"CAPTAIN W. B. ALLEN ASSISTING MEN WOUNDED BY THE EXPLOSION OF AMMUNITION, AFTER HIMSELF BEING WOUNDED.
A German shell, having exploded some ammunition which was being unloaded, caused several casualties. Captain William Barnsley Allen MC MB of the Royal Army Medical Corps, with utter disregard of danger, ran across the open, under heavy shell-fire, and commenced dressing the wounded, thereby saving many men from bleeding to death. He was himself hit four rimes by pieces of shell, one of which fractured two of his ribs, but coolly went on with his work until the last man was dressed and safely removed. For his most conspicuous devotion to duty he was awarded the VC."

I do not know hardly anything about William's life after 1918 beyond the fact that he stayed on in the Army. There are suggestions that he divorced his first wife MARY  - there is no record of her death - and married a GERTRUDE CRAGGS in 1925 but a court case in July 1932 in Chichester revealed the problems that William had faced in the intervening years.

He was charged as Major Allen with driving a motor car whilst under the influence of drink. His defence stated that Major Allen had "suffered as no other man in England had suffered". He had been wounded in the chest and afterwards in the eyes. He was blind for a total of six months. In total he had been wounded seven times during the war. After the Armistice he went to India where he contracted malaria and dysentery.  On his return back to England the malaria and dysentery was joined by bouts of sleepy sickness and pleurisy. He took drugs and whiskey to combat these ailments and whilst he was no longer on drugs, he still took the whiskey. The defence had no effect whatsoever on the Bench, Major Allen was fined and was banned for five years (or as they put it at the time had his licence suspended).

In April I managed to obtain a copy of the Observers report on the trial. Dated 24th July 1932 it is as follows

William did not complete the ban. Thirteen months later a Dr C.R. Sadler was called by phone at 7.15 a.m. On arriving at the house he found the Major propped up in bed in accordance with the instructions he had given over the phone. He was however unconscious, blue in the face and breathing very slowly. His pupils were dilated and he had an abnormal temperature. He died within half a hour of the Doctor's arrival. In a contradiction to the evidence given in the court case a year earlier, the Doctor knew that William was still taking drugs.

An inquest was held in Chichester on 28th August 1933 presided over by the Deputy Coroner for Chichester, Mr F.B. Tompkins. Dr Sadler confirmed that William was taking drugs - veronal, opium and morphis but he had no idea of the amount he had taken. His condition on the Sunday indicated that he had overdosed with opium. The doctor confirmed that he had never heard William threaten to take his life and in his opinion was not likely to do so. The Coroner stated that he was given to understand that the Major was in the habit of taking drugs straight from the bottle without measuring the amount. In these circumstances it is quite easy to see an overdose occurring. He recorded a verdict of accidental death. 

For a number of years I thought that it was these incidents at the end of his life that was the reason why more was not known of William Barnsley Allen. He was one of the most decorated men in the First World War and time after time he displayed amazing courage and perseverance under the most testing conditions imaginable. And yet there is no street/building etc named after him. The University of Sheffield, where he had excelled, chose to ignore him in their centenary history. And needless to say there is no plaque or memorial to mark his achievements and bravery.

However the court case in June 1932 and the inquest in 1933 don't tell the whole story. An article in "Down Memory Lane" published by The Star in Monday 28th September 1987 entitled "Forgotten Hero", a rather apt title, referred to research undertaken by a doctor at the University called Dr John Lunn, who had just recently retired from the department of community medicine. He pointed out that far from being in decline after the war, William was fine. An army colleague met him on Armistice Day in Sheffield in November 1918 and recalled that William was his usual intelligent cheery self. The following year he gave evidence in a murder case that involved the colonel of his unit who had shot and murdered a fellow officer. The Times reported that his testimony was clear and concise. It appear that he served in the Army up until 1923 and then left to go into medical practice in Hounslow, London.

Dr Lunn, firmly believes that "what did" for William Allen was "encephalitis lethargica" or to be more to the point "the sequale" or after effects of the disease 

The disease was first diagnosed if that is the right word by Arthur J Hall in 1918who ironically was Professor of Medicine at William's old University, Sheffield.

The symptoms of encephalitis lethargica, can be variable, but the illness usually starts with a high fever, headache and sore throat. Double vision, disturbance of eye movements, weakness of the upper body, tremors and strange movements, neck stiffness, intense muscle pains, a slowing of physical and mental response, drowsiness and lethargy soon follow. Unusual brain and nerve symptoms may occur, and the person's behaviour and personality may change too. Occasionally, they become psychotic with extremely disturbed thinking. Sometimes the illness is mistaken for epilepsy, hysteria or even drug or alcohol abuse. As the body shuts down, patients become increasingly sleepy and some may lose consciousness, slipping into a coma that can last months or even years. This is why the disease is sometimes known as sleeping sickness.

But it is the after effects that are the most disturbing. To quote the BBC's Health Website

"..the disease leaves a variety of problems that can cause prolonged disability. Most people recovering from encephalitis lethargica develop a form of Parkinson's disease, with typical symptoms of slowness, tremor and abnormal muscle movements called dystonia. As with Parkinson's there may be little facial movement, so although the person can hear, understand and is mentally fine, they don't appear to respond much to the world around them. These problems may develop as long as a year after recovery. There may also be problems with swallowing or vision, as well as long-term behavioural disorders.."

William contracted the illness in 1924. How he caught it is a mystery. The court case in 1932 refers to his service in India where he contracted malaria and dysentery but even today the causes of the illness are not known, Researchers believe a virus or other type of infection may be to blame for encephalitis lethargica, but there's no good evidence that pinpoints a particular organism. A few have suggested it might be an auto-immune disease, where the body's immune system is triggered by a throat infection (perhaps with a streptococcus bacteria) that in turn attacks the nervous system. Recent research shows that areas of the brain called the mid-brain and basal ganglia become inflamed during the illness. But while anti-brain antibodies can be detected, no viruses have been found. This suggests the illness isn't caused by a virus directly entering and attacking the brain. This indicates that the body's own immune cells are attacking the nerve cells in the brain.

The condition is not curable and even today treatment is targeted at supporting the person through their illness and dealing with the symptoms as they occur.

To quote the BBC's Health Website again

"As the person recovers, physiotherapy, nutritional support and speech therapy may all help to speed them on the path back to normality. They may also need psychological support to deal with emotional and behavioural problems."

William received nothing beyond drink and drugs to cope with his illness. To be fair there is little or nothing that could have been done. The illness was very much a mystery at the time and still is. Given it's variable nature, making the patient "comfortable" was the only viable option.

After posting this information to the site in October 2006 I was contacted by William's descendents who put a slightly different perspective on events leading up to William's death.

"It is also suggested in papers held (there is a wonderful file and scrapbook) at Keogh Barracks, Ash, Aldershot that his death may have been caused  by his deliberately infecting himself to try to find a cure having lost patients from a similar illness.  This however is only a vague suggestion and the family believe he committed suicide knowing he was developing  Parkinsons. We will probably never know the truth of it."

And I tend to agree with those sentiments - we will never know the truth of it.  

William is buried in Earnley Churchyard near Bracklesham in Sussex. He was just 41 years old when he died.

Additional notes


V. C. DOCTOR FOUND DEAD BRAVERY ON THE SOMME
Major William Barnsley Allen, V.C., D.S.O., M.C. and bar, late R.A.M.C., of Bracklesham Bay, Sussex, was found dead in his bed room on Sunday. Major Allen, who was 41, was awarded the V.C. for most conspicuous bravery and devotion to duty at Mesnil, on the Somme, on Septem- ber 3, 1916. The Gazette states:- "When gun detachments were unloading high explosive ammunition from wagons which had just come up, the enemy suddenly began to shell the battery position. The first shell fell on one of the limbers, exploded the ammunition, and caused several casualties. Captain Allen saw the occurrence, and at once, with utter disregard of danger, ran straight across the open, under heavy shell fire, commenced dressing the wounded, and undoubtedly by his promptness saved many of them from bleeding to death. H-Ie was himself hit four times during the first hour by pieces of shells, one of which fractured two of his ribs, but he never even mentioned this at the time, and coolly went on with his work till the last man was dressed and safely removed. i-c then went over to another battery and tended a wounded officer. It was only when this was done that he returned to the dugout and reported his own injury."
Maior Allen was born at Sheffield on June 8. 1892, and was educated at Worksop College and Sheffield University. He gained the gold medal for pathology in 1913, and three other medals and the Kaye scholarship. He joined the Armv four days after the outbreak of the War. He married at Gainsborough in May, 1916, Mary Young, daughter of Mr. W. Y. Mercer, of Gainsborough, and in the following August won the M. C. In July, 1917, Captain Allen was awarded a bar to the M. C. and was invalided to England in the same month. In January, 1918, he was made acting major, and in October was wounded for the third time and invalided for the second time to England and awarded the D. S. O. He had served in France three years and two months and was transferred to the Regular R.A.M.C. being dated back to captain, February 8, 1918, the rank which he held at the conclusion of the War. When in July last year* Major Allen was charged at Chichester with driving a motor-car while under the influence of drink. it was stated on his behalf that he had suffered as no other man in England had suffered. He was wounded in the chest, and afterwards in the eyes, being blind for six months. Altogether hc was wounded seven times. When the War ended he went to India, where he contracted malaria and dysentery. Returning to England. he gradually recovered, but later suffered from sleepy sickness malaria, dysentery, and pleurisy. Because of sleeplessness he began taking whisky and later drugs. He was able to throw off drugs, but still took whisky. The Bench fined Major Allen, and suspended his licence for five years.
In January this year it was announced in the London Gazette: " Major Allen, Royal Army Medical Corps, ceased to belong to the Reserve of Officers on account of ill-health." At the inquest held yesterday by the Deputy Coroner for Chichester (Mr. F. B. Tompkins) a verdict was recorded that death was due to an overdose of opium by misadventure. Dr. C. R. Sadler said that he was called by telephone about 7.15 on Sunday morning. He found the major propped up in bed, in accordance with instructions he had given over the telephone. He was blue in the face, absolutely unconscious, and his breathing very slow. His pupils were contracted and his temperature abnormal. He died about half an hour later. The witness knew that Major Allen took drugs - veronal , opium, and morphia -but he had no idea of the quantity he used. He knew from his condition on Sunday that it must have been a fairly large amount. Death was due to opium poisoning. He had never heard the Major threaten to take his life, and in his opinion he was not a person who was likely to do so. Dr. Sadler mentioned that Mrs. Allen was not at home at the time, being ill in a nursing home. , The CORONER said that he was given to understand that Major Allen had been in the habit of taking drugs from a bottle without measuring the dose. One could quite imagine how possible it would be for an overdose to be taken in such circumstances. In his opinion it was accidental.
The action which led to William's award is an area of controversy amongst researchers of the conflict Although William was with the RAMC, he was attached to 246th West Riding RFA on 3rd September 1916 and was assisting helping men from this unit.
"Following a failed attack which I have also seen called a raid on German trenches in a letter of condolence, it is clear that considerable controversy followed the remarks made by some senior officers after the attack by the 147th Infantry Brigade on and around the Pope’s Nose strong point at Thiepval, and the 146th Infantry Brigade’s attack to their north.

The battalions involved in the actual attack were:
In the 147th Brigade the 1st 4th and 1st 5th Duke of Wellington’s West Riding Regiment, and in the 146th Brigade the 1st 6th and 1st 8th Prince of Wales West Yorkshire Regiment.

The 1st 7th Duke of Wellington’s West Riding Regiment was also shelled heavily and it would seem reasonable to assume that all battalions in both brigades were also under shellfire that day.

Anyone who has researched a Memorial will know that there are days when the death rate shoots up. For Holmfirth and district (1st 5th Duke of Wellington’s) the 3rd September 1916 is the second worst day of the whole war.

This is from Sir Douglas Haig’s dairy:

“Monday, 4 September :
I visited Toutencourt and saw Gen.Gough. The failure to hold the position gained on the Ancre is due, he reported to the 49th Division. The units of that Division did not really attack and some men did not follow their officers. The total losses of this Division are under a thousand! It is a Territorial Division from the West Riding of Yorkshire. I had occasion a fortnight ago to call the attention of the Army and Corps Commanders (Gough and Jacobs) to the lack of smartness, and slackness of one of its Battalions in the matter of saluting when I was motoring through the village where it was billeted. I expressed my opinion that such men were too sleepy to fight well, etc. It was due to the failure of the 49th Division that the 39th (which did well and got all their objectives) had to fall back.”

Captain P.G.Bales, who sees things rather differently, wrote in the History of the 1st 4th Battalion, Duke of Wellington’s West Riding Regiment, 1914 - 19:

“It is not the purpose of this book to criticise as a general rule, but some slight exception must be made in connection with the attack on September 3rd. At the time there was a widespread belief, which was certainly held by most of the higher authorities, that the Battalion never gained its objectives. This was wrong. A and B Companies reached, and cleared the enemy from, the whole of the first and second objectives; it is true they did not occupy the whole of them, but that was due simply to lack of men. For more than two hours there were no Germans in either of the lines which the Battalion was ordered to capture. These facts are clearly proved, not only by the evidence of the men who carried out the assault, but also by the German official report on the action.”
 

Sources
The London Gazette 1916

The Times dated 1931 - 1932

The Times dated 29th August 1933

BBC's Health Website

Down Memory Lane" published by The Star in Monday 28th September 1987 - "Forgotten Hero

Great War Forum

Out of Battle Blogspot - Image of William and Gertrude's Grave

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This page was last updated on 26/01/10 10:16