In 1907, he changed firms and began a seven year apprenticeship with a pottery decoration company working on a variety of products produced by the city's potters.
[2] While preparing to be a priest, Mellor began to develop little interest in various Methodist meetings and decided a life of missionary will be a better fit for him, originally having in mind working in India.
Mellor wanted to study medicine and theology and before completing his apprenticeship, he took classes under the tutelage of the Workers' Educational Association.
Towards the latter part of the war, he toured Freetown and Lagos with HMS Africa protecting convoys of cargo ships.
In 1916, his younger brother who was aboard HMS Indefatigable during the Battle of Jutland died when his ship was sunk.
Sagamu was founded to replicate the structure of Abeokuta, a town consisting of villages and lineages converged together for defense purposes.
In Ijebu and Ijebu-Remo, the Methodist Church was already established in the district with about 22 mission stations, close to 2,000 converts and 12 chapels.
But many of these elites who helped develop the mission were polygamists who had great influence behind the scenes but were ineligible for official leadership positions or full membership.
Mellor's success was visible in education, he started classes for catechists and another for new converts as preparation for induction to the Methodist Church.
While working in Remo, Mellor met a young Tai Solarin who was a looking for someone to recommend him for service with the Royal Air force.
[9] Both individuals later developed a relationship and Mellor came to represent the Methodist mission in Nigeria during its independence in 1960, Solarin asked him to come back to Ikenne and be a part of his new school.