Evelyn Campbell Ellis

Sir Evelyn Campbell Ellis (8 December 1865 – 1 September 1920) was a British lawyer and colonial administrator. He was acting Attorney-General of the Straits Settlements in 1912 and 1913.

Early life Ellis was born on 8 December 1865 in London, the son of Dr Robert Ellis, MRCS. He was educated in a private school in Devon. After serving his articles with a solicitor's firm, in 1889, he was admitted as a solicitor in England.

Career After qualifying as a solicitor, Ellis went to Hong Kong in 1891 where he practised for five years. In 1896, he joined the firm of Drew and Napier in Singapore, was admitted as a solicitor and advocate of the Straits Settlements, and became a partner. He was a member of the Statute Law Revision Commission of the Straits Settlements from 1912 to 1916. He was a member of the Court of Inquiry which investigated the 1915 Singapore Mutiny. He served as an unofficial member of the Legislative Council of the Straits Settlements from 1908 to 1916, and was described as a someone who "showed himself a fearsome opponent of any measure which he could not conscientiously approve of, and when he thought something should go through, he defended it heart and soul". He retired in 1916.

Personal life and death Ellis was a keen volunteer. He joined the Maxim detachment of the Volunteer Artillery in Hong Kong in 1894, and in 1899 was gazetted as Second Lieutenant. After arriving in Singapore he joined the Volunteer Singapore Rifles as Lieutenant and in 1907 received the rank of Major commanding the infantry units in Singapore.