Statement on the Passing of Professor Harold Ellis CBE FRCS

It is with great sadness we share the news of the death of former Royal College of Surgeons (RCS England) Vice President, Professor Harold Ellis CBE FRCS. 

Professor Harold Ellis CBE, born in 1926, was professor of surgery at Westminster Medical School from 1962 to 1989. He qualified in medicine at Oxford in 1948, the year the NHS was founded, and held junior posts in Oxford, Sheffield and London before his appointment to his consultant post.

His particular interests were abdominal and breast surgery. 

A well-known and inspiring teacher and writer, his Clinical Anatomy, first published in 1960, has become a classic textbook. After he retired, he taught clinical anatomy at Cambridge and then at Guy’s campus, King’s College London. He was Vice President of the RCS England in 1986 and was appointed a CBE in 1987. 

The Professor Harold Ellis Medical Student Prize for Surgery is proudly named after him – reflecting his interest in helping the careers of so many surgeons – and has been awarded by the College since 2007. The International Journal of Surgery has awarded the Harold Ellis Prize in Surgery annually since 2003. 

Mr 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.”

You can read more about Professor Ellis' achievements and surgical career in his interview in the Bulletin.