H. Montagu Allan

Sir H. Montagu Allan
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Born	Hugh Andrew Montagu Allan October 13, 1860(1860-10-13) Montreal, Canada East
Died	September 26, 1951 (aged 90) Montreal, Quebec

Sir Hugh Andrew Montague Allan, CVO (October 13, 1860 – September 26, 1951) was a Canadian banker, ship owner, and a sportsman who donated the Allan Cup, the trophy symbolic of men's amateur ice hockey supremacy in Canada.

Early life

Born at Montreal, he was the second son of Sir Hugh Allan of Ravenscrag and Caroline Matilda Smith, the daughter of John Smith, a wealthy dry goods merchant of Montreal. From 1878 he was known as H. Montagu Allan to avoid confusion with his cousin Hugh Andrew Allan (1857-1938). He studied at Bishop's College School in Lennoxville, Quebec, then in Paris before joining his father's shipping business, the Allan Line.

Public Life

Sir Montague rose to Deputy Chairman of the Allan Steamship Line, retiring from the family business in 1912. By then he was President of Acadia Coal Co., Ltd., the Canadian Rubber Company, the Canadian Paper Company, the Carlton Hotel Company and Royal Securities.

He served on the Board of Directors of several major companies including Canada Steamship Lines Inc., Royal Trust Company, Montreal Rolling Mills Company, the Montreal Street Railway Company, the Montreal Light, Heat & Power Company, the Ogilvie Flour Mills Company, the Montreal Investment Trust and the Guarantee Company of North America. He was a director and the President of the Merchant's Bank of Canada (which had assets of $190 million in 1921) during its amalgamation into the Bank of Montreal in 1922. He also served as a Councillor and Treasurer of the Montreal Board of Trade.

Sir Montague Allan was honourary Lieutenant-Colonel of the 5th Regiment of The Black Watch (Royal Highland Regiment) of Canada, and in 1915 was appointed Lieutenant-Colonel of the Canadian Expeditionary Force, accompanying them to Europe, where he saw action during World War I.

He filled many positions in Montreal and Canada including Chairman of the Bishop's College School Association, President of the Montreal General Hospital, President of the St. Andrew's Society of Montreal, Vice-President of the Montreal Racquets Club and was one of the founders of the Mount Royal and Winter Clubs. He was a leader in the Charity Organisation Society and a director for the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.

Sir Montagu Allan was an avid sportsman and outdoor enthusiast, and a member of a number of sporting clubs. He had a special passion for horses and served as Master of the Montreal Hunt, President of the Canadian Racing Association, a Director of the International Horse Shows in London, President of Montreal Jockey Club and Chairman of Montreal Horse Show Association. He owned a thoroughbred horse-racing stable where his horses won several Queen's Plates, Montreal Hunt Cups, Members' Plates and the Hunters' Handicap Steeplechase Cup.

The Allan Memorial Cup

An Ice Hockey enthusiast, Sir Montagu donated The Allan Cup in 1908, as a championship trophy for senior hockey, which is still competed for today. Like the Stanley Cup, the Allan Cup was originally a challenge trophy, meaning teams could issue challenges to the reigning champion, hoping to defeat them and earn the status of champion for themselves. But when challenges for the Allan Cup grew so frequent that they became unmanageable, the format was altered in 1914 so that regional champions would compete for this prestigious national trophy.

Beginning in 1920, when hockey was first introduced to the Olympic Games, the reigning Allan Cup champion was chosen to represent Canada. This continued until Father David Bauer (ice hockey) introduced a national hockey program that produced a team of selects at the 1964 Olympic Games.

For his contribution to the sport of Ice Hockey, in 1945 he was made a member of the Hockey Hall of Fame in the Builders category . His cousin, Lady Isobel Brenda (Allan) Meredith (1867-1959) donated the Lady Meredith Cup in 1920, which was the first ice hockey trophy to be competed for amongst women in Canada. She was the wife of his friend Sir Vincent Meredith, 1st Baronet of Montreal.

Honours

Montagu Allan was created a Knight Bachelor by King Edward VII of the United Kingdom in 1906 and the following year was decorated Commander of the Royal Victorian Order. He held the Order of the Rising Sun of Japan (3rd Class), after entertaining Prince Fushimi Sadanaru at his Montreal home, Ravenscrag,. where he also played host to Prince Arthur, Duke of Connaught and Strathearn and King Edward VIII.

Family

On October 18, 1893, Montagu Allan married Marguerite Ethel MacKenzie (1873-1957), daughter of Hector MacKenzie of J.G. MacKenzie & Co., dry goods merchants, and the Hudson's Bay Company, Montreal with whom he would have four children :

1. Martha Allan (1895-1942), founder of the Montreal Repertory Theatre and the Dominion Drama Festival
2. Hugh Allan (1897-6 July 1917)
3. Anna Marjory (18 November 1898- 7 May 1915)
4. Gwendolyn Evelyn (20 April 1900-7 May 1915)

In May 1915, during World War I, his wife, along with daughters Anna, 16, and Gwen, 15, were aboard the RMS Lusitania when it was sunk by German submarine U-20. After she and her daughters jumped into the water, Lady Allan was severely injured. While she was rescued, both daughters drowned. Anna's body was never found but Gwendolyn's was recovered the next day and returned to Montreal for burial.The wife of Montagu's cousin, Rita Jolivet was also a passenger on the Lusitania. Two years after this tragedy, the War claimed a third child when son Hugh Allan, a Flight Sub-Lieutenant with the Royal Naval Air Service, was killed in action.

Sir Montague and Lady Allan lived at 'Ravenscrag' (now known as the Allan Memorial Institute) and kept two summer houses, 'Montrose' at Cacouna and 'Allancroft' at Beaconsfield, where he reared his horses. He and his wife are interred in the Mount Royal Cemetery next to two of their daughters.