A tribute to Ian Ellison

It is very sad to report the sad passing of Ian Ellison, who died at his home in Rhos-on-Sea in North Wales at the end of March his year. Ian had been Chairperson and Treasurer of BASW Cymru. He also served on BASW Council and the Finance and Human Resources Committee.

Ian had strong views about human rights and was very committed to BASW and SWU. He had originally served as a firefighter at Manchester Airport and was involved in the rescue of people caught in the aircraft fire on the runway there in 1985. However, he was badly affected by the fumes of that event which led to his retirement. He decided to retrain as a social worker. It was during this time that he met his future wife, Sally. Sadly, Sally passed away after contracting an infection on holiday, something Ian never recovered from.

Ian was always supportive of people and had strong views on the importance of family. Although Ian wasn’t comfortable with the personal limelight, he supported events e.g. BASW Cymru Social Work Awards, BASW Cymru Annual Conference, BASW UK AGMs. He personally recruited a number of members to BASW through personal engagement.

Ian remained a BASW Cymru committee member until 2016, when he was also serving for a second period on BASW Council, only stepping down after his health deteriorated.

He was a great guy – I will and do miss him.

Robin Moulster

BASW Cymru

Country Manager