The parents of my paternal grandfather, Ronald ALLEN, were William ALLEN and Jessie May SMART.
William ALLEN was born 31 January 1895 in Dunedin, Otago, NZ, to William Henry ALLEN & Eliza NOTLEN. He had three siblings; Oswald (1896-1980), Eva Alice (1904-1927) and Raymond (1908-1979). In 1919, he was living at 63 Waitoa Road, Wellington, with his parents, and working as a driver for his father’s carrier company.
On 26 December 1921, he married Jessie May SMART at St Peter’s Church in Wellington.
Jessie May SMART was born 3 April 1904 in Wellington, NZ, to George Charles SMART & Mary HIPWELL. She had two siblings; Lily Mary (1900-1981) and Fred (1911-1984).
William and Jessie lived in Wellington for much of their married life, raising two sons; William Robert (known as Jim) and Ron. The couple moved to Auckland in the early ’60s and spent the rest of their days on the North Shore. William died 23 June 1977 and Jessie died 4 February 1991.
