John Benjamin Allen, who passed away in Dorset last month on April 2, aged 90, was a Tenby man through and through.

If, as they say, you cut him in half it would have said ‘Tenby’ in the middle. The irony was, therefore, that most of his life was spent away from his birthplace.

Born in 1930 to Bertie and Blodwyn Allen in the Prince of Wales pub in Upper Frog Street, John was too young to serve in the war. However, he retained a keen interest in Second World War history throughout his life, and he recalled many wartime tales; including the time he was blown out of his bed in Upper Frog Street by Luftwaffe bombs that landed nearby in Battery Gardens.

He also talked about watching the rehearsals for the D-Day landings - Exercise Jantzen - taking place in July and August 1943 on Tenby beaches, John and his pals persuading the American servicemen to give them sausages down at the harbour; “The best sausage I ever ate”. American troops billeted in Tenby also handed out an unheard-of treat; bananas.

After leaving school, as a keen photographer John enjoyed working for Frank Gay at his studio in St. Julians Street; an interest he followed through his life, often developing films in his garage darkroom. John also discovered a talent for table tennis, playing with sufficient skill that it took him to a place in the county squad.

It was at this point that Blodwyn put her foot down and told John to get serious about the one sport that mattered; the rugby. Inevitably this led to Tenby United Rugby Club where he was welcomed as a talented winger and became known as ‘Titch - Prince of Wales’ to the team. John represented Tenby in 19 matches, scoring two tries. In later life, John was such a fervent supporter of the national team that he claimed he couldn’t watch Wales play live, due to the stress. Tenby Rugby Club gave him the very great honour of loaning the 100-year-old club flag for his funeral, where it was draped over his coffin; this was the first time the flag had been outside Wales.

John did his National Service serving at RAF Pembrey, living in Burry Port. Returning to Tenby, John had met Carol Creese ‘down at the harbour’ and they were married in 1961 at St. Mary’s Church, Tenby.

John’s main career was as a chemist, working as a civil servant for the government, specialising in fuel analysis for the Armed Forces. John and Carol lived for a short time in Wales before moving to Paisley in Scotland for six years. After that, with sons John and David and daughter Suzanne, the family moved to Cyprus for three years, living in Limassol near the RAF base at Akrotiri - a period that they hugely enjoyed.

Returning to the UK, for the rest of their married life, John and Carol lived in Verwood, Dorset, where John continued his specialised career working nearby at West Moors.

In retirement, John enjoyed gardening, history, geography and family holidays. He took particular pleasure in following Michael Portillo’s ‘Great Railway Journeys’ TV series and after John’s death, his son David wrote to Portillo and received a prompt reply for the funeral; “I’m sorry to hear of your bereavement. I am glad if your father John Allen found distraction and comfort in my televised rail journeys. If he was in some way able to travel ‘with me’, I am very heartened. I am sure that I was privileged to have him as my ‘travelling companion’.”