Bernard George Ellis GC (21 November 1890 – 1 July 1979) was a junior officer in the

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...

who was awarded the Albert Medal (AM) for bravery during

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

while serving in

Mesopotamia Mesopotamia ''Mesopotamíā''; ar, بِلَاد ٱلرَّافِدَيْن or ; syc, ܐܪܡ ܢܗܪ̈ܝܢ, or , ) is a historical region of Western Asia situated within the Tigris–Euphrates river system, in the northern part of the ...

. His Albert Medal was translated to the George Cross in 1971. Ellis was born in Surbiton in Surrey in 1890, the son of Henry Charles Ellis and May (née Bennett). He was educated at

Salisbury Cathedral School Salisbury Cathedral School is a co-educational independent school in Salisbury, Wiltshire, England, which was founded in 1091 by Saint Osmund. The choristers of Salisbury Cathedral are educated at the school. History The school was founded i ...

and at the Montpelier School at

Paignton Paignton ( ) is a seaside town on the coast of Tor Bay in Devon, England. Together with Torquay and Brixham it forms the borough of Torbay which was created in 1998. The Torbay area is a holiday destination known as the English Riviera. Paignt ...

Devon Devon ( , historically known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South West England. The most populous settlement in Devon is the city of Plymouth, followed by Devon's county town, the city of Exeter. Devo ...

. The family lived at Home Cottage in Roundwell in

Bearsted Bearsted ( , ) is a village and civil parish with railway station in mid-Kent, England, two miles (3.2 km) east of Maidstone town centre. Geography The village was historically concentrated around Church Lane and The Green which includes ...

. Ellis had one brother, Charles Harold. His great-grandfather, Charles Ellis, was the Mayor of

Maidstone Maidstone is the largest town in Kent, England, of which it is the county town. Maidstone is historically important and lies 32 miles (51 km) east-south-east of London. The River Medway runs through the centre of the town, linking it wi ...

in 1860, and his grandfather, Charles Jr., was also Mayor of Maidstone three times: in 1864, 1872 and 1878. When

broke out in 1914 Ellis was working at the Union of London and Smith's Bank in Maidstone. He enlisted with the Public Schools Corps in September 1914 as a Private and arrived in France with them in November 1915, serving in the trenches for six months opposite the

Hohenzollern Redoubt The Hohenzollern Redoubt () was a strongpoint of the German 6th Army on the Western Front during the First World War, at Auchy-les-Mines near Loos-en-Gohelle in the Nord-Pas-de-Calais region of France. Named after the House of Hohenzollern, ...

. He returned to England and trained as a bomb instructor at Oxford following which he was given a commission before being gazetted to the

Buffs (Royal East Kent Regiment) The Buffs (Royal East Kent Regiment), formerly the 3rd Regiment of Foot, was a line infantry regiment of the British Army traditionally raised in the English county of Kent and garrisoned at Canterbury. It had a history dating back to 1572 and ...

, going with his battalion to India and then to Mesopotamia. According to ''

The London Gazette ''The London Gazette'' is one of the official journals of record or government gazettes of the Government of the United Kingdom, and the most important among such official journals in the United Kingdom, in which certain statutory notices are ...

'' of 18 July 1919: 'On 21 August 1918, Lieutenant Ellis was with a party at Shahraban under instruction in the firing of rifle grenades. A volley was fired, but one of the grenades, owing to a defective cartridge, did not leave the rifle, but fell back into the barrel with the fuse burning. The firer lost his head and dropped the rifle and grenade in the trench, but Lieutenant Ellis, who was separated from the man by four other men in a narrow trench, at once forced his way past them and seized the rifle. Failing to extract the grenade, he dropped the rifle and placed his steel helmet over the grenade, which at once exploded, severely injuring him. There can be no doubt that his prompt and courageous action greatly minimised the force of the explosion and saved several men from death or injury'.The medals of Bernard George Ellis
in the

National Army Museum The National Army Museum is the British Army's central museum. It is located in the Chelsea district of central London, adjacent to the Royal Hospital Chelsea, the home of the " Chelsea Pensioners". The museum is a non-departmental public bo ...

Ellis survived his injuries and was invalided back to India, where he served as Captain of the Guard to

Lord Willingdon Freeman Freeman-Thomas, 1st Marquess of Willingdon (12 September 1866 – 12 August 1941), was a British Liberal politician and administrator who served as Governor General of Canada, the 13th since Canadian Confederation, and as Viceroy and ...

, Governor of Bombay. Despite 350 pieces of the exploded grenade being in his body, 77 of them in his right arm, Ellis remained a keen sportsman. In 1971 he was among the surviving recipients of the Albert Medal and the

Edward Medal The Edward Medal was a British civilian decoration which was instituted by royal warrant on 13 July 1907 to recognise acts of bravery of miners and quarrymen in endangering their lives to rescue their fellow workers. The medal was named in hono ...

who accepted the offer to exchange their awards for the George Cross. He also received the 1914–15 Star,

British War Medal The British War Medal is a campaign medal of the United Kingdom which was awarded to officers and men of British and Imperial forces for service in the First World War. Two versions of the medal were produced. About 6.5 million were struck in si ...

, Victory Medal and the Defence Medal. His medals are now in the collection of the

in London. Ellis died in

Letchworth Letchworth Garden City, commonly known as Letchworth, is a town in the North Hertfordshire district of Hertfordshire, England. It is noted for being the first garden city. The population at the time of the 2011 census was 33,249. Letchworth ...

in Hertfordshire in 1979 and is buried in the churchyard of All Saints church in

Willian, Hertfordshire Willian is a village and former civil parish, now in the unparished area of Letchworth, in the North Hertfordshire district, in the county of Hertfordshire, England. Along with Norton and Old Letchworth, it is one of the original three villag ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ellis, Bernard George 1890 births 1979 deaths People from Surbiton People from Letchworth People educated at Salisbury Cathedral School British Army personnel of World War I British recipients of the George Cross Recipients of the Albert Medal (lifesaving) People from Bearsted Buffs (Royal East Kent Regiment) officers Burials in Hertfordshire Military personnel from Guildford