However, notwithstanding declining to submit his thesis for examination, his outstanding qualities were recognised by the Professor of Geology at Reading University, another, but unrelated Percival Allen, with the award of the Martin Lees Research Fellowship in 1958.
In 1988 he was appointed Director of the newly formed Postgraduate Research Institute in Sedimentology.
The flagship MSc trained many outstanding students, among whom are leading figures of the world's oil industry.
Emeritus Professor since 2001,[3] John continued to teach and be involved in the university until his death.
[4] Allen received a number of awards in his career: He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society (FRS) on 1979.