Ellison, William George Hollingsworth

The Reverend William George Hollingsworth Ellison studied theology at the Lichfield Theology College, England. He became a deacon in 1881 and was ordained as priest in 1883. He served in this position in a busy parish of a thickly populated part of London until 1888. In 1890 he went to Bombay, India, as a harbour chaplain for the port of Bombay and he founded, in this capacity, the Seamen's Institute, which has grown internationally since. It was probably in India that he began his study in comparative religions, to which study he became more and more devoted as time moved on. In 1892 he took up the rectorship of the joint districts of Esquimault and Metchosin in the Diocese of British Columbia. He held this position for seventeen years. A difference concerning the Virgin Birth, which arose between Rev. W.G.H. Ellison and the diocesan bishop Perrin, obliged him to leave the district. He returned to England and became chaplain of the Emigration Society. His knowledge of various countries was of a great help to the activities of the Society and he influenced many to migrate to Canada. He returned to British Columbia and spent his last years in Victoria. While still remaining a priest in the Anglican Church, he held no church positions, but used to address vast audiences on Sunday evenings by broadcasting short sermons through a Victoria radio station. He passed away after a short illness in [1930?].