diff --git a/rclpy/CMakeLists.txt b/rclpy/CMakeLists.txt
index 65df66233..fbba007f9 100644
--- a/rclpy/CMakeLists.txt
+++ b/rclpy/CMakeLists.txt
@@ -239,6 +239,11 @@ if(BUILD_TESTING)
   target_link_libraries(test_c_handle
     rclpy_common)
 
+  ament_add_gtest(test_python_allocator
+    test/test_python_allocator.cpp)
+  target_include_directories(test_python_allocator PRIVATE src/rclpy)
+  target_link_libraries(test_python_allocator pybind11::embed)
+
   if(NOT _typesupport_impls STREQUAL "")
     # Run each test in its own pytest invocation to isolate any global state in rclpy
     set(_rclpy_pytest_tests
diff --git a/rclpy/src/rclpy/client.cpp b/rclpy/src/rclpy/client.cpp
index a171d568e..ad3edd67d 100644
--- a/rclpy/src/rclpy/client.cpp
+++ b/rclpy/src/rclpy/client.cpp
@@ -23,6 +23,7 @@
 #include "rclpy_common/common.h"
 
 #include "client.hpp"
+#include "python_allocator.hpp"
 #include "rclpy_common/exceptions.hpp"
 #include "utils.hpp"
 
@@ -58,9 +59,10 @@ Client::Client(
     client_ops.qos = *qos_profile;
   }
 
+
   // Create a client
   rcl_client_ = std::shared_ptr<rcl_client_t>(
-    new rcl_client_t,
+    PythonAllocator<rcl_client_t>().allocate(1),
     [this](rcl_client_t * client)
     {
       auto node = node_handle_->cast_or_warn<rcl_node_t *>("rcl_node_t");
@@ -74,7 +76,7 @@ Client::Client(
           rcl_get_error_string().str);
         rcl_reset_error();
       }
-      delete client;
+      PythonAllocator<rcl_client_t>().deallocate(client, 1);
     });
 
   *rcl_client_ = rcl_get_zero_initialized_client();
diff --git a/rclpy/src/rclpy/python_allocator.hpp b/rclpy/src/rclpy/python_allocator.hpp
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..1164702a8
--- /dev/null
+++ b/rclpy/src/rclpy/python_allocator.hpp
@@ -0,0 +1,80 @@
+// Copyright 2021 Open Source Robotics Foundation, Inc.
+//
+// Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
+// you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+// You may obtain a copy of the License at
+//
+//     http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+//
+// Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+// distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+// WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+// See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+// limitations under the License.
+
+#ifndef RCLPY__PYTHON_ALLOCATOR_HPP_
+#define RCLPY__PYTHON_ALLOCATOR_HPP_
+
+#include <pybind11/pybind11.h>
+
+namespace rclpy
+{
+//----------- Declaration ----------
+
+/// Allocate memory using Python's allocator
+/**
+ * \warning The GIL must be held while the allocator is used.
+ */
+template<class T>
+struct PythonAllocator
+{
+  using value_type = T;
+
+  PythonAllocator() noexcept = default;
+
+  template<class U>
+  PythonAllocator(const PythonAllocator<U> & /* other */) noexcept {}
+
+  T * allocate(std::size_t n);
+
+  void deallocate(T * p, std::size_t n);
+};
+
+template<class T, class U>
+constexpr bool operator==(const PythonAllocator<T> &, const PythonAllocator<U> &) noexcept;
+
+template<class T, class U>
+constexpr bool operator!=(const PythonAllocator<T> &, const PythonAllocator<U> &) noexcept;
+
+//----------- Implementation ----------
+
+template<class T>
+T * PythonAllocator<T>::allocate(std::size_t n)
+{
+  T * ptr = static_cast<T *>(PyMem_Malloc(n * sizeof(T)));
+  if (nullptr == ptr) {
+    throw std::bad_alloc();
+  }
+  return ptr;
+}
+
+template<class T>
+void PythonAllocator<T>::deallocate(T * p, std::size_t /* n */)
+{
+  PyMem_Free(p);
+}
+
+template<class T, class U>
+constexpr bool operator==(const PythonAllocator<T> &, const PythonAllocator<U> &) noexcept
+{
+  return true;
+}
+
+template<class T, class U>
+constexpr bool operator!=(const PythonAllocator<T> &, const PythonAllocator<U> &) noexcept
+{
+  return false;
+}
+}  // namespace rclpy
+
+#endif  // RCLPY__PYTHON_ALLOCATOR_HPP_
diff --git a/rclpy/test/test_python_allocator.cpp b/rclpy/test/test_python_allocator.cpp
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..f7c0e7d48
--- /dev/null
+++ b/rclpy/test/test_python_allocator.cpp
@@ -0,0 +1,71 @@
+// Copyright 2021 Open Source Robotics Foundation, Inc.
+//
+// Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
+// you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+// You may obtain a copy of the License at
+//
+//     http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+//
+// Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+// distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+// WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+// See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+// limitations under the License.
+
+#include <pybind11/embed.h>
+
+#include <gtest/gtest.h>
+
+#include <vector>
+
+#include "python_allocator.hpp"
+
+namespace py = pybind11;
+
+TEST(test_allocator, vector) {
+  py::scoped_interpreter guard{};  // Start a Python interpreter
+
+  std::vector<int, rclpy::PythonAllocator<int>> container(42);
+
+  EXPECT_EQ(42u, container.capacity());
+  ASSERT_EQ(42u, container.size());
+
+  for (size_t i = 0; i < 42u; ++i) {
+    container[i] = i;
+  }
+}
+
+TEST(test_allocator, equality) {
+  py::scoped_interpreter guard{};  // Start a Python interpreter
+
+  rclpy::PythonAllocator<int> int_alloc;
+  rclpy::PythonAllocator<float> float_alloc;
+
+  EXPECT_TRUE(int_alloc == float_alloc);
+  EXPECT_FALSE(int_alloc != float_alloc);
+}
+
+TEST(test_allocator, make_1) {
+  py::scoped_interpreter guard{};  // Start a Python interpreter
+
+  rclpy::PythonAllocator<int> int_alloc;
+
+  int * i = int_alloc.allocate(1);
+
+  ASSERT_NE(nullptr, i);
+
+  int_alloc.deallocate(i, 1);
+}
+
+TEST(test_allocator, copy_construct_make_1) {
+  py::scoped_interpreter guard{};  // Start a Python interpreter
+
+  rclpy::PythonAllocator<float> float_alloc;
+  rclpy::PythonAllocator<int> int_alloc(float_alloc);
+
+  int * i = int_alloc.allocate(1);
+
+  ASSERT_NE(nullptr, i);
+
+  int_alloc.deallocate(i, 1);
+}