Ellison was born in York and later lived in Leeds, England. He first joined the British Army as a regular soldier in 1902 - but had left by 1912, by which time he had become a coal miner, and when he married Hannah Maria Burgan in Nottingham. Sometime just before the outbreak of war he was recalled to the army, joining the 5th Royal Irish Lancers and serving in the army from the very start of the war. He fought in the Battle of Mons in 1914, and several other battles including the Battle of Ypres, Battle of Armentières, Battle of La Bassée, Battle of Lens, Battle of Loos, and Battle of Cambraion the Western Front. Ellison, aged 40 at the time of his death, is buried in the St Symphorien Military Cemetery, just southeast of Mons. Coincidentally, and in large part due to Mons being lost in the very opening stages of the war and regained at the very end, his grave faces that of John Parr, the first British soldier killed during the Great War. He was survived by Hannah and a son, James Cornelius – living in Richmond Hill in east Leeds, as were Ellison's parents. The family only learnt of his death just before Christmas, more than a month after the war had ended. Ellison's only brother Frederick was also killed during the war, in 1917. In recent times, Ellison's story was featured in a 2008 BBC 'Timewatch' documentary with Michael Palin, in conjunction with his granddaughters. Then in 2018, he and John Parr became the inspiration behind a poem, "Goodnight Kiss", by writer Philip Parker - written as part of a project in conjunction with the Imperial War Museums. And in November 2018, Leeds Civic Trust and partners unveiled a memorial plaque to him at Leeds railway station, paid for via a public crowdfunding campaign. The Civic Trust’s plaques are usually blue, but Ellison’s is olive green to symbolise the uniform of the soldiers. The unveiling event, on 7 November, garnered considerable media coverage, and was attended by his two granddaughters and other family members. A memorial mock newspaper was created and circulated at the event, marking Ellison's life and the story of the war as experienced by regular people in Leeds. Following the unveiling of the plaque, Leeds artist Suman Kaur heard Ellison's story, and created and circulated a 'remastered' charcoal portrait of him based on the only known photo of him. Note that various websites still incorrectly feature a different and much clearer portrait - but this has been proven to be someone else completely.
