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6397 1st Battalion, Suffolk Regiment
Joseph Allen was born in 1884 in Kings Lynn, Norfolk, the son of Harry and Cecelia Allen, of 5 Priory Walk, Sudbury. His father was a cocoa mat maker and most likely moved to Sudbury when his employers William Armes & Son moved their business to Sudbury from Kings Lynn.
Before enlisting in Sudbury as a regular soldier serving with the Suffolk Regiment Joseph was employed as a factory hand in a local silk factory. In 1911 he was stationed at Mustapha Pasha Barracks in Alexandria, Egypt with the rank of Lance Corporal and was married to Lillie.
At the outbreak of war his battalion was stationed in Khartoum. The battalion returned to England to Winchester before being sent to Ypres. Joseph embarked onboard SS Mount Temple and landed in France at Le Havre on 16 January 1915 by 4 February the battalion was entrenched between the Ypres-Comines Canal and Hill 60 where they came under fire almost immediately.
He was killed in action on 18 February 1915, aged 30. There is no known grave and he is remembered on the Menin Gate, Ypres, Belgium.
Joseph was awarded the 1914-15 Star, British War Medal and Victory Medal.
A Cross of Remembrance was laid at the Menin Gate in April 2006, April 2009 and October 2012. He is also remembered on the Baptist Church memorial in Church Street.
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