To many of us, Professor Ellis was an institution in himself. His knowledge was unsurpassed and he delivered it in a straightforward way, with relevance and humour. His illustrious clinical and academic career were astonishing. Quite simply he was a superhero of surgery and anatomy, and it was an honour to have worked alongside him.
Dr David Parry, Senior Lecturer in Anatomy Education at King’s and former colleague
31 March 2026
A tribute to Professor Harold Ellis CBE, Mch, FRCS
It was with great sadness that we learned that eminent surgeon and educator, Professor Harold Ellis CBE, Mch, FRCS passed away on 25 March at the age of 100.
Professor Ellis worked in the anatomy department at King’s for three decades after retiring from clinical work, only stopping teaching five years ago. He was not only hugely respected internationally in the surgical and anatomy world but was an inspirational teacher and mentor, writing numerous books and articles on surgical anatomy, including the seminal student textbook Clinical Anatomy, first published in 1960 and now in its 14th edition.
Born in Stepney Green in the East End of London, he went on to qualify as a doctor from the University of Oxford in July 1948, the same month as the inception of the NHS, and before Watson and Crick had published their discovery of the molecular structure of DNA. His career as a surgeon and educator would span more than 70 years, and he was awarded a CBE in 1987.
Professor Ellis carried out his training as a surgical registrar in London, Sheffield and Oxford, and went on to become a senior lecturer at the University of London. He was a Professor of Surgery at Westminster Medical School from 1962 until his retirement from clinical practice in 1989. He went on to teach anatomy at the University of Cambridge and then joined Guy’s Hospital Medical School in 1989.
Over the course of his life, he introduced several thousand students to anatomy and surgery, preparing them for the MRCS examination. While he had extremely high expectations of his students, he was also known for being incredibly charismatic, and always had anecdotes to share. The Royal College of Surgeons (RCS) established the ‘Professor Harold Ellis Medical Student Prize for Surgery’ in 2007 to recognise the impact of his teaching and contribution to surgery.
As well serving as Vice President of the RCS, he was also Vice-President of the Royal Society of Medicine and President of the British Association of Surgical Oncology.
I am very saddened to hear of Professor Ellis’s passing. He was an exceptional teacher and an inspiration to so many of us in the surgical community. I feel privileged and grateful to have had the opportunity to learn from him.
Professor Bijan Modarai, Director of the Centre for Academic Surgery at Kings, and King’s Health Partners Professor of Surgery
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Senior Lecturer in Anatomy Education
Professor of Vascular Surgery