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  • In MemoriamAnthony Ellis
  • Evelyn Ellis (bio)

Anthony Ellis died peacefully at home in Belsize Park, London, on 14 November 2008 at the age of eighty-seven. A tub-thumping Shavian, he modeled his life on Bernard Shaw from the age of fourteen, when his brother passed him a copy of Major Barbara. In later years, he discovered the Shaw Society and designed and edited their Newsletter, which helped so much to improve communication within the Society. A trained journalist by profession, Anthony worked on many newspapers over a period of fifty years, including twenty-five on The Observer, a national Sunday paper, where he had a weekly column based on collecting antiques. He also did a number of travel articles, mainly specializing in antiquity. In his spare time, Anthony edited the British Museum Bulletin for over thirteen years.

Anthony's funeral took place on 24 November at St. Peters, Belsize Square, the church that he could see from his window at home, and which he enjoyed for its visual rather than spiritual qualities. The service went very well, with a reading by Barbara Smoker on Shaw and journalism, and the vicar was so reluctant to offend any Shavians in the congregation that he apologized for every prayer and hymn. The only complaint from lifetime humanist Terry Mullins was that he couldn't get the tune of the final hymn, "Abide with Me," out of his head, and was still humming it when he arrived at Conway Hall a week later with fellow committee member Phillip Riley.

I am grateful to Anthony for bringing me into the Shaw Society and gaining so many good friends. I continue to support the Society as treasurer and membership secretary, a task I took on to make sure it lasted at least his time. Anthony would very much have appreciated a mention in the SHAW Annual, which he always looked forward to receiving and read with much pleasure. [End Page 239]

Evelyn Ellis

Evelyn Ellis, a Shavian by marriage, joined the Shaw Society with her husband, Anthony, in 1991, in time to celebrate the fiftieth anniversary of the Society. Anthony took over the Newsletter and Evelyn, who had been head of public relations for one of the UK's leading wine companies, offered her PR skills to improve membership facilities. As nobody else seemed interested in collecting money, she also became treasurer and now handles most of the society's administration, correspondence, archive preservation, and Web site.

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