Tim Mitchell, president of the Royal College of Surgeons of England, said: “Our thoughts are with Professor Ellis’s family and friends. He was a meticulous surgeon, a world-renowned educator and anatomist. He made a huge contribution to the college.”
Ellis, the youngest of four children, was born in 1926 in Stepney Green to Polish-Jewish parents, his father a barber and his mother a dressmaker.
He qualified as a doctor from Oxford University Medical School in July 1948 – the same month that the NHS was established – and went on to hold numerous influential medical and academic roles throughout his career. From 1950 to 1951, he undertook national service as a captain in the Royal Army Medical Corps, where he treated soldiers returning from the Korean War with severe head and spinal injuries.
Professor Harold Ellis receiving his CBE in 1987[Missing Credit]
He went on to become foundation chair of surgery at the now-closed Westminster Hospital in 1962, a role he held until 1989, and later taught anatomy at Cambridge and King’s College London.
His later appointments included professor of surgery at the University of London and professor in the department of anatomy and human sciences at the King’s College London school of medicine.
He was also vice-president of the Royal College of Surgeons of England, and of the Royal Society of Medicine, and was president of the British Association of Surgical Oncology. He remained active in teaching well into his later life.
The International Journal of Surgery, which is dedicated to the “global advancement of surgical research, education and clinical practice”, has awarded the prestigious “Harold Ellis Prize” annually since 2003, which recognises scientific papers judged to be outstanding.
The Professor Harold Ellis medical student prize for surgery is named for him and has been awarded by the Royal College of Surgeons since 2007.
Ellis also held numerous honorary degrees and fellowships, including from the Royal College of Physicians, the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists, the Royal Society of Medicine, the Sri Lanka College of Surgeons, the Académie de Chirurgie in Paris and the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, among others. He was additionally an honorary fellow of several international surgical associations, including those in the Netherlands, India, Greece, France and Israel.
His name has appeared various times over the years in the JC – in the January 2 1987 edition, this newspaper reported that Ellis, then professor of surgery at what was the Charing Cross and Westminster Medical School, had been appointed CBE in that year’s New Year Honours list.
Harold Ellis (Credit: YouTube/Dr Sukh presents The Waiting Room)[Missing Credit]
Following his death, individuals claiming to be former students of the professor have shared their memories of Ellis online.
One such tribute read: “They certainly don't make professors like that anymore,” while another labelled the surgeon “an absolute legend”. That user added: “I feel so privileged to have learnt from him over the years.”
A third described Ellis as a “gentleman” who “made anatomy interesting and fun”.
Another user wrote: “He once told me ‘You've made a bitter old man proud’ when I answered an anatomy question right. I'll never forget it.”
Ellis turned 100 on January 13, and died on March 25. He is survived by two children and several grandchildren.
