Percival Knight Allen - Trooper for the Lord Strathcona's Horse Boer War

We Remember

Second Boer War 1899-1902

World War I 1914 - 1918

Percival Knight Allen

Percival Knight Allen was born on October 17th, 1875, in London, England. He attended Lancing College from 1887 to 1893, before studying chemistry and mine engineering.

Allen left England in 1898 to come and work in the gold mining camps of BC, ultimately settling in Rossland. Shortly after the start of the Second Boer War, Allen enlisted as a trooper in the Lords Strathcona’s Horse (Royal Canadians) on February 8th, 1900. He was part of the Battle of Berg-en-dal, better known as the Battle of Belfast, as well as in the Orange Free Station and Natal. Allen was discharged on March 16th, 1901 and was awarded the Queen’s Medal with three clasps (Belfast, Orange Free State, and Natal).

After the war, Allen returned to South Africa, where he worked as a sampler at mines near Johannesburg and later as a surveyor at Abosso Mine in West Africa. Ultimately, he returned to England where he married Violet Irene on September 30th, 1916.

At the onset of the First World War, Allen enlisted in the 10th Battalion Royal Fusiliers on August 29th, 1914. On October 24th, 1914, he was commissioned as a temporary lieutenant at the 10th Battalion West Yorkshire Regiment. The 10th Battalion was deployed to France on July 13th, 1915.

On April 22/23, 1917, Allen was one of the many who died in the Second Battle of the Scarpe.

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