Born in Balderstone, Rochdale on 4 October 1874, he first worked in a series of jobs as a casual labourer in and around Manchester before gaining a job at a spinning mill in Bury. After another stint in a factory he decided to follow his father's trade by becoming a barber and hairdresser in Rochdale, where he subsequently also opened a newsagent's shop, which he ran with his wife and children.
Career
At the age of 22 he applied to the Home Office to become an executioner and was invited to attend training at Newgate Prison. He first participated in an execution in Newcastle in December 1901, as assistant to William Billington. Ellis served as Chief Executioner from 1907 and was involved in a total of 203 executions. Among the executions he performed were those of Hawley Harvey Crippen in 1910, Frederick Seddon in 1912, Sir Roger Casement in 1916, Herbert Rowse Armstrong in 1922, and of Edith Thompson in 1923. He took the responsibility of his position very seriously and hoped to "despatch" the condemned person with as little fuss and pain to the individual concerned as possible. The ordeal of executing Edith Thompson in 1923 had a profound effect on Ellis. Thompson had collapsed in terror at the prospect of her hanging and, unconscious, had to be supported on the gallows by four prison warders. Various accounts report, "that guards had to tie her to a small wooden chair before drawing the noose around her neck", and that "she was hanged in a bosun's chair". On 27 March 1956, the then Home Secretary Major Lloyd George stated in a Written Answer in the Commons "that the Governor of Holloway Prison, who was also the Medical Officer,... gave Mrs. Thompson sedatives" and that "although he thought she could have walked with assistance, he had her carried and she was supported on the scaffold. Apart from this, nothing unusual occurred." When the gallows trapdoor opened and Thompson fell, the sudden impact of the noose caused her to suffer a massive vaginal haemorrhage. The large amount of blood spilled, combined with the fact that Thompson had gained weight during her imprisonment even while resisting food, led to conjecture that she might have been pregnant, although no post-mortem examination was made. All women hanged in Britain after Thompson were required to wear a special garment made of canvas as a precaution against the problems encountered with Thompson.
Resignation and death
Ellis resigned from his post in the following year. Whether this was due to his experiences at the Thompson hanging is open to dispute, especially since he performed 11 more executions before he withdrew. Ellis took to drinking heavily, and attempted suicide in 1924 by shooting himself in the jaw. Suicide was at that time a criminal offence, and Ellis was charged and bound over for 12 months at Rochdale Magistrates Court. Eight years later, in September 1932, after another bout of heavy drinking, Ellis succeeded in his suicide attempt, cutting his throat with a razor.
Controversy
His relations to his fellow executioners were strained. Henry Pierrepoint was struck off the list of executioners following a complaint by Ellis. Pierrepoint, arriving at Chelmsford prison slightly intoxicated on 13 July 1910, had started a row, and would have beaten up Ellis had not warders intervened. Pierrepoint's brother Thomas, also an executioner, is reported to have said about John Ellis that "it was impossible to work with him". Insights into his behaviour, way of thinking and the methods he employed can be read in the book Diary of a Hangman, in which he describes his methods and recalls the final moments of some of those he executed.
