Ian Allan (publisher)
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Ian Allan OBE |
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|---|---|
| Born |
29 June 1922 Horsham, Sussex, England |
| Died | 28 June 2015 (aged 92) |
| Occupation | Book publisher |
| Organization | Ian Allan Publishing |
| Spouse(s) | Mollie Eileen Franklin |
| Children | Two sons |
Ian Allan, OBE (29 June 1922 – 28 June 2015) was a publisher who specialised in transport titles through his company Ian Allan Publishing.
Allan was born at Christ's Hospital independent school, Horsham, Sussex, where his father, G.A.T. Allan, was clerk to the school. He was educated at St Paul's School, London. At the age of 15, he had a leg amputated following an accident during Officers' Training Corps exercises. His hopes of joining the Southern Railway as a cadet were dashed as result of his failure to pass the school certificate examination. He was nevertheless offered a position in the Southern Railway's Public Relations Office at London Waterloo by Sir John Elliot. After the outbreak of the Second World War, he was exempt from military service due to the loss of his leg. He stayed at the Southern Railway handling public enquiries including ones from railway enthusiasts and producing the company's magazine.
With the help of S.K. Packham, Chief Clerk in the Public Relations Office, Allan compiled a notebook with all the names, numbers, classes and shed allocations of Southern Railway locomotives, based on many of the requests he received about . This was so well-received that Allan asked his chief officer, Cuthbert Grasemann, if he might publish it as a small booklet which would save costs in terms of replying to public enquiries and which could even make a small profit. The proposal was turned down but Allan was allowed to begin publication on his own behalf. Through the Public Relations Office, he met W.C. Brett of McCorquodale & Co. printers who agreed to publish the booklet. Two thousand copies of his first book, ABC of Southern Locomotives, were ordered for sale for a shilling each. On the day of its publication, 21 November 1942, Allan presented copies to Grasemann and Oliver Bulleid, the Southern's Chief Mechanical Engineer. This backfired as Bulleid objected violently to the publication of a book about his locomotives without his knowledge and he threatened Allan with dismissal from the Southern Railway as well as an action for breach of copyright if he were to publish.
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