Born in the Osmondthorpe area of Leeds, Ellis attended the Leeds College of Commerce before finding work delivering mail for the Post Office.
In 1958, he moved to the Ministry of Public Building and Works, where he worked as a clerk, and became active in the Civil and Public Services Association (CPSA).
[1] In 1968, Ellis was appointed as the full-time assistant secretary of the CPSA, holding the post until 1982, when he became the union's deputy general secretary.
In 1992, he stood down from his existing posts to become secretary of the Council of Civil Service Unions, also joining the Industrial Tribunal Panel.
[1] Ellis retired in 1995, thereafter devoting his time to the Civil Service Pensioners' Alliance, and the Labour Party, which he represented on Caterham Valley Parish Council.