Martin Allen was a 15 year old British boy who disappeared mysteriously on 5 November 1979. No trace of Allen has been found and his fate remains unknown.
Allen lived with his parents in a cottage in the grounds of the Australian High Commission in London. His father was chauffeur to the Australian High Commissioner, while his mother worked at a London school.
On 5 November 1979, Allen travelled home on the London Underground. His intention was to go and see his older brother, but he needed to go home first in order to collect some money. At around 3.50 pm he said goodbye to some school friends on King's Cross Station and set off in the direction of the Piccadilly line platform to travel home. This was the last positive sighting of Allen and he failed to reach either his parents' or his brother's home.
When he was reported missing, a large scale police operation was launched supported by a media campaign. This failed to locate Allen, though a witness did come forward to report seeing a boy fitting his description in the company of a blond haired man aged about 30 on Gloucester Road underground station. The witness reported that the boy appeared nervous and distressed and that the man had his arm around the boy's shoulder. He also overheard the man tell the boy not to try to run when the pair left the train at Earl's Court station. Identikit pictures of the man were widely circulated, but police were unable to identify him.
30th anniversary appeal
In 2009, Allen's parents, Tom and Eileen Allen (now both over 80 years old) launched a new appeal for information. They conceded they now had no hope of seeing him alive again, believing him to have been abducted. They stated their wish simply to know what had happened and why. The officer leading the new police investigation admitted that police were baffled by the case and that, despite a massive initial inquiry and a good response from the public, they had few leads.Tom Allen has since died.
Allen lived with his parents in a cottage in the grounds of the Australian High Commission in London. His father was chauffeur to the Australian High Commissioner, while his mother worked at a London school.
On 5 November 1979, Allen travelled home on the London Underground. His intention was to go and see his older brother, but he needed to go home first in order to collect some money. At around 3.50 pm he said goodbye to some school friends on King's Cross Station and set off in the direction of the Piccadilly line platform to travel home. This was the last positive sighting of Allen and he failed to reach either his parents' or his brother's home.
When he was reported missing, a large scale police operation was launched supported by a media campaign. This failed to locate Allen, though a witness did come forward to report seeing a boy fitting his description in the company of a blond haired man aged about 30 on Gloucester Road underground station. The witness reported that the boy appeared nervous and distressed and that the man had his arm around the boy's shoulder. He also overheard the man tell the boy not to try to run when the pair left the train at Earl's Court station. Identikit pictures of the man were widely circulated, but police were unable to identify him.
30th anniversary appeal
In 2009, Allen's parents, Tom and Eileen Allen (now both over 80 years old) launched a new appeal for information. They conceded they now had no hope of seeing him alive again, believing him to have been abducted. They stated their wish simply to know what had happened and why. The officer leading the new police investigation admitted that police were baffled by the case and that, despite a massive initial inquiry and a good response from the public, they had few leads.Tom Allen has since died.
Martin Allen was a 15 year old British boy who disappeared mysteriously on 5 November 1979. No trace of Allen has been found and his fate remains unknown.
Allen lived with his parents in a cottage in the grounds of the Australian High Commission in London. His father was chauffeur to the Australian High Commissioner, while his mother worked at a London school.
On 5 November 1979, Allen travelled home on the London Underground. His intention was to go and see his older brother, but he needed to go home first in order to collect some money. At around 3.50 pm he said goodbye to some school friends on King's Cross Station and set off in the direction of the Piccadilly line platform to travel home. This was the last positive sighting of Allen and he failed to reach either his parents' or his brother's home.
When he was reported missing, a large scale police operation was launched supported by a media campaign. This failed to locate Allen, though a witness did come forward to report seeing a boy fitting his description in the company of a blond haired man aged about 30 on Gloucester Road underground station. The witness reported that the boy appeared nervous and distressed and that the man had his arm around the boy's shoulder. He also overheard the man tell the boy not to try to run when the pair left the train at Earl's Court station. Identikit pictures of the man were widely circulated, but police were unable to identify him.
30th anniversary appeal
In 2009, Allen's parents, Tom and Eileen Allen (now both over 80 years old) launched a new appeal for information. They conceded they now had no hope of seeing him alive again, believing him to have been abducted. They stated their wish simply to know what had happened and why. The officer leading the new police investigation admitted that police were baffled by the case and that, despite a massive initial inquiry and a good response from the public, they had few leads.Tom Allen has since died.
Allen lived with his parents in a cottage in the grounds of the Australian High Commission in London. His father was chauffeur to the Australian High Commissioner, while his mother worked at a London school.
On 5 November 1979, Allen travelled home on the London Underground. His intention was to go and see his older brother, but he needed to go home first in order to collect some money. At around 3.50 pm he said goodbye to some school friends on King's Cross Station and set off in the direction of the Piccadilly line platform to travel home. This was the last positive sighting of Allen and he failed to reach either his parents' or his brother's home.
When he was reported missing, a large scale police operation was launched supported by a media campaign. This failed to locate Allen, though a witness did come forward to report seeing a boy fitting his description in the company of a blond haired man aged about 30 on Gloucester Road underground station. The witness reported that the boy appeared nervous and distressed and that the man had his arm around the boy's shoulder. He also overheard the man tell the boy not to try to run when the pair left the train at Earl's Court station. Identikit pictures of the man were widely circulated, but police were unable to identify him.
30th anniversary appeal
In 2009, Allen's parents, Tom and Eileen Allen (now both over 80 years old) launched a new appeal for information. They conceded they now had no hope of seeing him alive again, believing him to have been abducted. They stated their wish simply to know what had happened and why. The officer leading the new police investigation admitted that police were baffled by the case and that, despite a massive initial inquiry and a good response from the public, they had few leads.Tom Allen has since died.
