Betty Eleanor Gosset Molesworth
Born 21 Jul 1913 - Died 11 Oct 2002
- Service number
- WWII W2905 AWMM
- Also known as
- Molesworth-Allen AWMM
- Armed force / branch
- Air Force AWMM
- Last rank
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- War
- World War II, 1939-1945 AWMM
About
- Title
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- Forenames
- Betty Eleanor Gosset AWMM
- Surname
- Molesworth AWMM
- Ingoa
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- Also known as
- Molesworth-Allen AWMM
- Service number
- WWII W2905 AWMM
- Gender
- Female AWMM
- Iwi / Hapū / Waka / Rohe
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- Religion
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Images
Documents
About birth
- Birth
- 21 Jul 1913 WAAF Strengths (R21072930)
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- Address before enlistment
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- Post war occupation
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Wars and conflicts
- War
- World War II, 1939-1945 AWMM
- Campaign
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- Armed force / branch
- Air Force AWMM
- Service number
- WWII W2905 AWMM
- Military service
- Royal New Zealand Air Force, Women's Auxiliary Air Force (WAAF) AWMM
- Promotions/ Postings/ Transfers
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Military decorations
- Medals and Awards
- Member of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (MBE) (Civil) AWMM
Training and Enlistment
- Military training
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- Branch Trade Proficiency
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- Enlistment
- WW2 17 Mar 1942 Errol Martyn WAAF Research
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Embarkations
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Prisoner of war
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- Liberation Repatriation
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Medical history
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Last known rank
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Biographical information
- Voluntary assistant, botany department and administrated the department when Lucy Cranwell was in Hawaii in 1938. Honorary curator 1939/40. Botanist 1944-December 1947.
"New Zealand botanist and explorer who was employed by the Auckland Museum where she succeeded L.M. Cranwell (1907-2000). During the Second World War she was a volunteer in the Women's Auxiallary Air Force, subsequently training in tropical botany in Malaysia and working for many years in the Singapore Botanic Gardens.
In 1947 she met and married Geoffrey Allen (-1985), a pilot, wildlife photographer and amateur ornithologist. During the 1948-1960 State of Emergency, Betty and her husband took shelter from Communist guerillas in the forest, using the time profitably to collect plants. She made plant collections both under her maiden and married names, the latter often cited as 'Molesworth-Allen'.
Noted in the Auckland Museum Annual Report, 1954–1955: "Mrs. Betty Molesworth-Allen and Mr. Harley Powell presented their herbaria to the Museum and from these we are selecting the best specimens to add to the permanent collection and sorting the duplicates for exchange with other institutions."
Betty Allen retired with her husband to Los Barrios in Andalucia, Spain (1963) where she continued to collect plants, particularly ferns. It was in 1965 that she made the remarkable discovery of Psilotum nudum (L.) P. Beauv. in southern Spain, previously thought to be exclusively a tropical species. Betty Allen contributed to Flora Europaea and published on the flora of the region. The hybrid Narcissus x alleniae was named in her honour. She was awarded the MBE in 1997." JSTOR Global Plant Profile
Member of the Auckland Institute and Museum AWMM
About death
- Death
- 11 Oct 2002 AWMM
- Date of death
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- Age at death
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- Place of death
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- Cause of death
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- Death notes
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- Cemetery
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Memorial
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Related objects
Sources
- External links
- Global Plants Profile
https://plants.jstor.org/stable/10.5555/al.ap.person.bm000390391
Further Reference - Wikipedia Entry
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Betty_Molesworth_Allen
Further Reference - Nationaal Herbarium profile
https://www.nationaalherbarium.nl/FMCollectors/A/AllenBEGMolesworth.htm
Further Reference
- Global Plants Profile
- References
- This record was partially compiled from data kindly provided by Errol Martyn (2020)
- Thwaites, Ian (2015). A Good Place To Be: Auckland Museum People, 1929-89. Auckland: Printed for the author
- Allen, B. M. (1945). Auckland salt marshes. Auckland [N.Z.] : Craig, Lineham, Duplicatists.
- Allen, B. M. (1967). Malayan fruits. Singapore : Donald Moore Press Ltd.
- Allen, B. M. (1975). Common Malaysian fruits, with Thai and Tamil names. Singapore : Longman.
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