IDENTITY STATEMENT
Reference code(s): ALLEN
Held at: Marylebone Cricket Club Library
Title: Gubby Allen Scrapbooks
Date(s): 1917-1985
Level of description: Collection
Extent: 0.14 cubic metres
Name of creator(s): Allen, George (Gubby) Oswald Browning
CONTEXT
Administrative/Biographical history:
Sir George Gubby Oswald Browning (known as Gubby) was born on 31 July, 1902, at Bellevue Hill, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, to parents Walter Allen and Margeurite (Pearl) Lamb.
Allen was educated at Summerfields preparatory school in Oxford from the age of 9 until he moved to Eton College at age 13, mainly because of his cricketing ability. While at Eton he played in the Eton vs. Harrow match at Lord's, a ground which Allen was to be associated with throughout his life. In 1921 he moved to Cambridge University and in that same year was first invited to play first-class cricket for Middlesex County Cricket Club, as an all-rounder.
Allen combined most of his cricketing career with working in the City of London, and was elected as a member of the London Stock Exchange in 1933. In 1930 Allen made his Test debut for England vs. Australia. He was selected for the infamous 'Bodyline' MCC tour of Australia in 1932-1933, where he refused to bowl Bodyline as directed by the captain Douglas Jardine. Allen was captain for the next MCC tour of Australia in 1936-1937, and played his last Test for England vs. the West Indies in Kingston in March 1948.
Allen played first-class cricket for 21 years, between 1921 and 1950. He served in the City of London Yeomanry during the Second World War and took up a position with the Royal Air Force where he experienced a bombing raid over Germany at his own request. When he retired from cricket he became a successful cricket administrator, having already joined the MCC and Middlesex Committees during his career. From 1954 to 1961 he was Chairman of Selectors for MCC, then was President of MCC in 1963-1964, and served as Treasurer from 1964-1976, presenting his last budget speech to the Annual General Meeting in 1976. Allen was knighted for his services to cricket in 1986, and died close to Lord's on November 29, 1989.
Allen used scrapbooks regularly to document his life and career, and these scrapbooks presumably were donated to MCC following his death. The scrapbooks are mainly made up of photographs and newspaper cuttings that mention Allen, and include handwritten notes by Allen. As well as cricket, coronations and changes in Kings and Queens during Allen's life are noted, the events of the Second World War, and Allen's trips to America, particularly MGM Studios.
CONTENT
Scope and content/abstract:
Scrapbooks including newspaper cuttings, correspondence, telegrams, scorecards, photographs, dinner menu cards.
ACCESS AND USE
Language/scripts of material: English, French and German.
System of arrangement:
The scrapbooks are arranged by date.
Conditions governing access:
Records under 30 years old are closed to the public, records between 30 and 40 years require permission from the Club Secretary before access. All older records are open.
Conditions governing reproduction:
Copies available subject to the condition and status of the original.
Finding aids:
Further details of the collection are available online through MCC's online catalogue, at http://mcc.adlibhosting.com/
ARCHIVAL INFORMATION
Accruals:
Accruals are not expected.
Archival history:
Immediate source of acquisition:
The scrapbooks were presumably donated to MCC following Allen's death.
ALLIED MATERIALS
Existence and location of originals:
The original records are held in the Archive next to the Ticket Office, Reception Building, Lord's Cricket Ground.
DESCRIPTION NOTES
Archivist's note: Compiled by Robert Curphey, Documentation Assistant, MCC. The following sources were used to compile the history of the collection: Wisden Cricketers' Almanack, 1977 Gubby Allen: Man of Cricket, E.W. Swanton, 1985 Sir Gubby Allen's profile on ESPN Cricinfo: http://www.espncricinfo.com/england/content/player/8515.html
Date(s) of descriptions: April 2013