Allan was educated to 8th Grade at Oakleigh State School, and then went to work in the family business, "Barker's Bakery", where he became a Baker. He met Bessie Roberts at a Church picnic, and married on 14 October 1939 at the Oakleigh Methodist Church. They lived at Worcester St., East Oakleigh until 1946 and their first three children were born at Oakleigh.

Allan left the Baking trade as he had poor eyesight and found that the whiteness and night work were affecting it. They purchased a 25 acre mixed farm at Ross St., Dandenong in 1946, and they lived there until 1954. Their fourth child was born while at Ross St. They moved to New St., Dandenong when Allan started working for the Dandenong Shire Council outdoor staff. The last child was born while they lived in New St.

When their eldest son moved to Harkaway, they purchased a block of land there and built the Harkaway General Store, commencing business there in 1963. Allan continued working for the Dandenong City Council for another 18 months and then worked in the Shop. They sold the shop and moved back to Dandenong in 1972. Allan then worked at a couple of small Supermarkets in Dandenong and Narre Warren and then worked for his eldest son Ian for several years in the Berwick Supermarkets. He suffered a heart attack in 1978 and retired. He died in the Dandenong Hospital in October 1985, and was buried in the Harkaway Cemetery.

Bessie lived in Dandenong until her death on 25 August 2008.