Chapter 2 What do we know about WWE?

James Ellis was in the Dragoon Guards, and married Miss Ann Webb in Exeter in 1804. He was killed in the battle of Albuera in 1812 leaving his widow with two small sons. Thomas was 8, and William, who was born on 24 November 1806 in Salford, Lancashire, was then aged 6. Mrs Ellis decided to move to Rugby because she hoped to get the children a good education at the school at no cost as local foundationers.

William entered the school in 1816 and was a good scholar as well as a good cricketer. In 1825 he won the Second Exhibition of his year to Oxford, where he represented his university at cricket against Cambridge. He entered Holy Orders, first as minister of St George's, Albemarle Street, London, and then as Rector of St Clement Danes in the Strand. The only known picture of him appeared in the Illustrated London Post at this time, as a consequence of a stirring sermon he gave concerning the Crimean War. In 1855 he became rector of Laver Magdalen in Essex.

He died in the South of France on 24 January 1872, probably quite unaware of his supposed connection to the RFU that had been founded the year before. His grave at Menton was rediscovered by Ross McWhirter in 1959 and has since been renovated.

None of the rather small amount of further information that has been gathered about his life sheds any light at all on the claim that his action in running with the ball changed the nature of Rugby football.

Page updated 07 December 2003 by Peter Shortell