Lionel Frederic Ellis CVO CBE DSO MC (13 May 1885 – 19 October 1970) was a

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 Gurkha ...

officer and military historian, author of three volumes of the official ''

History of the Second World War The ''History of the Second World War'' is the official history of the British contribution to the Second World War and was published by Her Majesty's Stationery Office (HMSO). The immense project was sub-divided into areas to ease publication ...

''. Between the two

World Wars A world war is an international conflict which involves all or most of the world's major powers. Conventionally, the term is reserved for two major international conflicts that occurred during the first half of the 20th century, World WarI (1914 ...

, he was General Secretary of the

National Council of Social Service The National Council of Social Service (NCSS) is a statutory board under the Ministry of Social and Family Development of the Government of Singapore The Government of Singapore is defined by the Constitution of Singapore to mean the ...

(1919–1937) and then Secretary of the National Fitness Council (1937–1939). In the 1950s he was an Associate Warden of

Toynbee Hall Toynbee Hall is a charitable institution that works to address the causes and impacts of poverty in the East End of London and elsewhere. Established in 1884, it is based in Commercial Street, Spitalfields, and was the first university-affiliat ...

Career

Born in

Nottingham Nottingham ( , locally ) is a city and unitary authority area in Nottinghamshire, East Midlands, England. It is located north-west of London, south-east of Sheffield and north-east of Birmingham. Nottingham has links to the legend of Robi ...

, in 1916 Ellis was commissioned into the

Welsh Guards The Welsh Guards (WG; cy, Gwarchodlu Cymreig), part of the Guards Division, is one of the Foot Guards regiments of the British Army. It was founded in 1915 as a single-battalion regiment, during the First World War, by Royal Warrant of George V. ...

from the Inns of Court Officers' Training Corps and saw service in the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

. Ellis was awarded a

Military Cross The Military Cross (MC) is the third-level (second-level pre-1993) military decoration awarded to officers and (since 1993) other ranks of the British Armed Forces, and formerly awarded to officers of other Commonwealth countries. The MC ...

"for conspicuous gallantry and resource" while leading an attack under machine-gun fire and rose to the rank of captain. In 1919 he was awarded the

Distinguished Service Order The Distinguished Service Order (DSO) is a military decoration of the United Kingdom, as well as formerly of other parts of the Commonwealth, awarded for meritorious or distinguished service by officers of the armed forces during wartime, ty ...

for gallantry and devotion to duty, in the advance south of Bavai. He returned to civilian life and became the first General Secretary of the new

, a position he held from 1919 to 1937, then the first Secretary of the new National Fitness Council, 1937 to 1939, working with

Lord Aberdare Baron Aberdare, of Duffryn in the County of Glamorgan, is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created on 23 August 1873 for the Liberal politician Henry Bruce. He served as Home Secretary from 1868 to 1873. His grandson, the thi ...

, the first chairman. In the 1930 Birthday Honours, Ellis was appointed a Commander of the

Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established ...

"for services in connection with the Coalfields Distress Fund" and in 1937 a Commander of the

Royal Victorian Order The Royal Victorian Order (french: Ordre royal de Victoria) is a dynastic order of knighthood established in 1896 by Queen Victoria. It recognises distinguished personal service to the British monarch, Canadian monarch, Australian monarch, o ...

. On 18 September 1939, shortly after the beginning of the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

, Ellis returned to the Welsh Guards and was later appointed as an official historian, contributing three volumes to the ''

''. After the war, he was an Associate Warden of

. His ''The War in France and Flanders'' (1954) begins with the

Phoney War The Phoney War (french: Drôle de guerre; german: Sitzkrieg) was an eight-month period at the start of World War II, during which there was only one limited military land operation on the Western Front, when French troops invaded Germa ...

of 1939–1940 and deals with the failed attempts of the British Expeditionary Force to defend Belgium and France from the German invasion of May and June 1940. It ends with the confusion of the Belgian surrender, the British failure to defend the Somme and the decision to evacuate British forces from Dunkirk. His later volumes dealt with the Normandy Campaign and the defeat of Germany.

Private life

In 1916, Ellis married Jane Richmond (died 1953) in the Southwark district and they had a son, Christopher St John Ellis (1920–1997), who served in the

Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve Royal may refer to: People * Royal (name), a list of people with either the surname or given name * A member of a royal family Places United States * Royal, Arkansas, an unincorporated community * Royal, Illinois, a village * Royal, Iowa, a c ...

during the Second World War and became a schoolmaster and also one daughter. Ellis died at Harlington, Middlesex, on 19 October 1970. Ellis was a painter and a friend of

Rex Whistler Reginald John "Rex" Whistler (24 June 190518 July 1944) was a British artist, who painted murals and society portraits, and designed theatrical costumes. He was killed in action in Normandy in World War II. Whistler was the brother of poet and ...

, who was stationed with him during the Second World War.Major Lionel Ellis CVO, CBE, DSO, MC
at arts-and-crafts-company.com, accessed 23 July 2016

Major publications

*''Welsh Guards at War'' (1946) *

' (London: HM Stationery Office, 1954) *''History of the Second World War, United Kingdom Military Series: Victory in the West: The Battle of Normandy'' by L. F. Ellis, with G. R. G. Allen, A. E. Warhurst, and Sir James Robb (London, H.M. Stationery Office, 1962) *''History of the Second World War, United Kingdom Military Series: Victory in the West: The Defeat of Germany'' (1968)

Notes

External links

*L. F. Ellis
The War in France and Flanders
full text at ibiblio.org
Ellis, Lionel Frederic (1885-1970), Major and military historian
at National Archives {{DEFAULTSORT:Ellis, Lionel Frederic 1885 births 1970 deaths Military personnel from Nottingham British military historians Welsh Guards officers British Army personnel of World War I British Army personnel of World War II Commanders of the Royal Victorian Order Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Companions of the Distinguished Service Order Recipients of the Military Cross