Tribute to Professor Anthony Mellows

Professor Anthony Mellows, OBE TD BD LLD AKC FKC alumnus and former Head of the Law School at King’s College London died on 10 January.

The Dickson Poon School of Law is saddened to learn that a former Head of School Professor Anthony Roger Mellows, has died. Professor Mellows was a distinguished lawyer, academic and former Head of the Law School at King’s. He first joined the School in 1954 when he embarked upon an LLB degree.

As a practising lawyer he founded a niche firm and practised in The Temple and subsequently as a consultant in Lincoln’s Inn. He held academic positions at the University of London and at King’s.

Professor Mellows was very involved in the life of the university and was a Fellow of King's College London (FKC). He also served as a Reserve Army Officer in the Intelligence Corps and on the General Staff and was awarded the Territorial Decoration (TD).

In 2014, Professor Mellows completed the maximum permitted 6-year term as Lord Prior of the Order of St John, a Crown Order of Chivalry which is also the parent body of an international charity. The Order of St John is found throughout the Commonwealth of Nations, Hong Kong, the Republic of Ireland, and the United States of America, with the world-wide mission ‘to prevent and relieve sickness and injury, and to act to enhance the health and well-being of people anywhere in the world’. As the Lord Prior, Professor Mellows was the most senior non-royal member of the order worldwide.

Professor Mellows undertook various commitments on behalf of Archbishops of Canterbury, and chaired the Archbishops’ Review of Bishops’ Needs and Resources. He was appointed OBE for services to the Church of England.

Professor Mellows features in the recent photo exhibition Portraits of a Global Law School currently on display in Somerset House East Wing.