Derek Fortrose Allen CB FBA FSA (29 May 1910 – 13 June 1975) was Secretary of the British Academy from 1969 to 1973 and Treasurer of that organisation from 1973 until his death.
Born in Epsom, Surrey, Allen joined the British Museum staff in 1935 as an Assistant Keeper in the Coin Room.
His project on defining the coinage of Henry II was interrupted by the Second World War and was eventually completed in 1947.
[1] Allen joined the British Numismatic Society in 1935 and served as its Secretary from 1938 to 1941 and was Editor of volumes XXII and XXIII of the Journal.
After his death in 1975, his widow Winifred Allen established with the Academy in 1976 a prize in his memory - the Derek Allen Prize - to be awarded annually to recognise outstanding published work in Musicology, Celtic Studies and Numismatics.