OBITUARY

SIR GEORGE

ALLEN

Former B.A.

Secretary

Sir George Allen, C.B.E.. former Secretary of the British Association for the Advancement of Science. died in Canterbury on Friday. He was a man of outstandine distinction whom many in Britain as wel as in Malaya and Singapore will remember gratefully.

Born in Belfast in 1894, he was educated at the Methodist College and at the Queen's University where he graduated in medicine in 1917. He served vith the R.A.M.C. in the East African campaign, and then worked as a bacteriologist in Nairobi, and Kuala Lumpur. In 1929 he became Principal of the College of Medicine at Singapore. and began to exercise that profound and beneficent influence upon higher education in Malaya which culminated in his appointment as the first i'vce-chancellor of the University of Mlalaya in 1947. He remained in Singapore throughout the last war and was imprisoned there by the Japanese from 1942 to 1945.

From 1954 until 1963 when he retired, he was Secretary of the British Association for the Advancernent of Science, which owes mnuch to his vision and enterprise. He was also greatly concerned to promote cooperation among the Commonwealth universities and he served as treasurer of the Association of Universities of the British Commonwealth from 1954 to 1961. Queen Elizabeth College, London knew him as its distinguished chairman of council from 1958 to 1964. while from 1965 until his death he was Deputy Pro-Chancellor of the Universitv of Kent at Canterburv. He helped to found this new university and devoted much time and care to it. In so doing he won for himself a quite exceptional measure of respect and affection from its members. In Canterbury he inspired the foundation of a post-graduate Medical Centre and served on the governing bodies of the colleges of Art and Education there until he died.

Appointed C.B.E. in 1946, he was knighted in 1952 and ha,l honorary doctorates from the Universities of Malaya, Belfatst. Aberdeen and Kent and a fellowship of Queen Elizabeth College, London. He was remarkable for the vigour of his mind and the width of his sympathies, but he was also a generous and humble man of great courage and staunch in friendship.

He was twice married, first to Sybil May Seaton who died in 1953 and second to Oriane Frances Tomkins who survives him.