Villa faithful say final farewell to Ellis
Football paid its respects at the funeral of former Aston Villa chairman Sir Doug Ellis yesterday.
Ellis, who died last month aged 94, had two spells in charge at Villa Park, from 1968 to 1975, and 1982 to 2006, rejoining shortly after Villa’s European Cup win.
Villa won the League Cup three times during his reign – in 1975, 1994 and 1996 – and were runnersup in the inaugural season of the Premier League in 1992-93.
Fans lined the route of the funeral cortege, which drove around Villa Park, past the Sir Doug Ellis Stand, before heading to a private ceremony at Aston Parish Church.
The lead car had an Aston Villa flag on the bonnet, with Ellis’s pale blue Rolls-royce, registration plate “AV1”, following behind.
Former England captain Bryan Robson, who started his career at West Brom before moving to Manchester United and who would later return to the Hawthorns as manager, was among those at the service. Also in attendance were former players David Platt, Andy Townsend and Ian Taylor.
As part of the order of service, former director Tony Hales and broadcaster Nick Owen both paid tribute to Ellis, as did David Dein, the former vice-chairman at Arsenal and the Football Association.
Knighted in 2012 for charitable services, Ellis is survived by second wife, Heidi, and his three sons.