Mary Sophia Allen

Mary Sophia Allen OBE was a British political activist known for her defence of women's rights in the 1910–1920s and later involvement with British fascism. She is chiefly noted as one of the early leaders of the Women's Police Volunteers. Allen repeatedly sought to challenge or modernise the existing systems of the time, ensuring the Women's Police Service could become an auxiliary force after women were admitted into certain British police forces. She stood once for the House of Commons as an Independent Liberal, turning over her Women's Auxiliary Service to breaking the General Strike of 1926. Thereafter she met and talked with European fascists and anti-communist brigades, entailing frequent trips abroad and publicly joining the British Union of Fascists in 1939. In retirement, Allen was an activist for animal rights.