9:00am Monday 23rd August 2010
By Jess Childs
THEY lost their lives almost a century ago but the legacy of Leominster siblings Leonard, David, Fred and William Ellis looks set to live forever after a special donation was made to the town’s museum.
The fallen soldiers, who all died over a two-year period during the First World War, have been honoured by another band of brothers who took their names following the tragedy.
The sons of Charles Ellis, another brother who survived the conflict, handed five British War medals and five Victory Medals that came to the family after the war to honorary curator David Brown on Monday.
David Ellis was joined by Charles, 80, Len, 68 and Fred, 82, for the occasion, while their other brother William was unable to attend.
David, 73, said: “Because there is a lot of us, we decided not to sell them or keep them but give them to the museum, then if anyone wants to have a look at them they can.”
The story of the original Ellis brothers is familiar to many locally, not least because the majority of descendants continue to carry their names while several others – including William’s son Paul and David’s son Mark – have since followed in the family’s military footsteps.
Mr Brown said to get such a collection of medals that were all related was very unusual.
“We do rely on donations and the Ellis family are important Leominster military figures.
There aren’t many families who lost four people in the First World War,” he added.
David also expressed his gratitude to nephew Tony Ellis, son of his brother Fred, for tracking the medals down and bringing them back into the family.
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