1475 Charles Allen

Constituency : Stroud  1900-18

Charles  recovered  Stroud  from  the  Tories.

Charles  was  the  son  of  the  manager  at  the  Manchester  Guardian  and  part-owner  of  the  Manchester  Evening  News. He  was  educated  at  Rugby  and  Oxford.. He  initially  became  a  solicitor  but  then  switched  to  working  as   journalist  on  his  father's  paper. He  was  a  foreign  correspondent  working  in  the  Near  East. Charles  was  also  a  rugby  union  player  and  made  two  international  appearances  for  Wales  ( where  he  lived ).

Charles's  contributions  were  largely  on  military  matters.

Although  in  his  fifties, Charles  joined  up  in  1914  as  a  captain  based  on  his  Volunteer  experience. He  became  a  Town  Major  ,dealing  with  troop  movements.

Charles  stood  down  in  1918  but  attempted  a  comeback  in  the  seat  in  1922. He  failed  to  hold  it  for  the  Liberals, coming  second  to  the  Conservatives.

He  died  in  1930  aged  68.