It is with enormous sadness and regret that we record that
Professor Anthony Mellows OBE TD died on 10 January 2016.
Professor Mellows had concurrent careers as an academic and practising lawyer. He had degrees in Law and Divinity and was for many years a Professor of Law in the University of London, having been at various times Dean of the Faculty of Laws of the University and Head of the School of Law at King’s College London. He was an Emeritus Professor of the University. As a practising lawyer he founded a niche firm and practised in The Temple and subsequently as a consultant in Lincoln’s Inn.
For about 15 years Professor Mellows served as a Reserve Army Officer in the Intelligence Corps and on the General Staff and was awarded the TD.
Professor Mellows had a wide variety of additional interests, with a strong emphasis on the voluntary sector. In 2014 he completed the maximum permitted 6-year term as Lord Prior of the Order of St John, a Crown Order of Chivalry which uniquely is also the parent body of an international charity which carries on a variety of health care activities in about 40 countries and which has approaching 400,000 supporting volunteers and staff, mainly in the Commonwealth and the United States. As the Lord Prior, Professor Mellows was the most senior non-royal member of the Order worldwide.
Professor Mellows undertook various commitments on behalf of Archbishops of Canterbury, and chaired the Archbishops’ Review of Bishops’ Needs and Resources. He was appointed OBE for services to the Church of England.
Professor Mellows made a study of the Chapels Royal, and for forty years he and his wife Elizabeth worshipped together in the Chapels. In 2015 he became the first Vice-Chairman of The HM Tower of London Chapels Royal Foundation.
He is survived by Elizabeth. May he rest in peace.