[4] Prior to his sporting career, Allanson served as an able seaman in the Royal Australian Navy during the later stages of World War II,[5] and was present in Tokyo Bay in 1945 when the Japanese surrender was signed aboard the United States Navy battleship USS Missouri.
[6] Allanson was an Essendon local and at the end of his debut season played in the 1947 VFL Grand Final.
[7] Essendon lost the game but he got another chance to play in a premiership in 1950, this time finishing on the winning team.
In 1957 Allanson played a first-class cricket match for Victoria against Tasmania, making 24 in his only innings.
[11] Noel Allanson died at East Malvern, Victoria on 7 February 2022, at the age of 96, and was the last surviving member of the 1950 Essendon premiership team.