Ellen Cockrell was the elder daughter of John Cockrell and Susan Ryan who married on 31 October 1886 at the parish church in Islington. John was a packer and the couple made their first home in Islington and moved to the Hoxton area by the end of 1889. 

When the census was taken in April 1891 the family was living at 51 Nicholas Street; John still working as a confectionery packer whilst Susan cared for their two young sons. A third son was born in the summer of 1892, then Ellen (registered as Nellie) towards the end of 1894 and finally another daughter Louisa three years later.

By the time the next census return was made in April 1901 the family lived on Queensbury Street, Islington. All five children were still at home and John was still earning his living packing at the sweet factory.  Over the next decade the family began to disperse as the older children became more independent and by 1911 the two eldest boys, John and Edward, had both left home. John and Susan lived at Ashley’s Row, Canonbury. Nellie, at 16 years old, was working as a caramel packer, presumably working in the same factory as her father. Older brother Alfred, then 18, was working as a van guard and little sister Louisa was still at school.

All three of Nellie’s brothers served in the army in WW1 - John in the Royal Field Artillery, Edward in the Royal Engineers and Alfred in the King´s Royal Rifle Corps. Perhaps it was the thought of her three brothers away at war that prompted Nellie, now known as Ellen, to volunteer her services. She was living at 23 Halton Road, Canonbury when she enrolled as a full time General Service member(full time) of V.A.D. London on 20 March18.

Ellen served as a ward orderly at the Prince of Wales Hospital, Marylebone Road. This had previously been the Grand Central Hotel until it was taken over by the War Office to be used as a military hospital for sick and wounded officers. 

Ellen had been working at the hospital for several months when she became ill with influenza; perhaps not surprising at a time when an influenza epidemic was raging across many parts of the world. Sadly Ellen also developed a cerebral embolism and succumbed to her illness on 24 November 1918, two weeks after the cessation of hostilities on the Western Front. 

Ellen’s body was taken back home and she was buried in Islington & St Pancras Cemetery, where her mother was also buried. It wasn’t until 23 August 2016 that Ellen was recognised as a casualty of WW1, following work by the In From the Cold Project. 

Ellen is also name on the Screen Wall in the cemetery, which commemorates local casualties of WW1. Ellen’s father died in 1923 and is also buried in the same cemetery. Ellen’s three brothers survived the war, all earning the British War Medal and the Victory Medal. Her brother John’s son, also named John, died in 1941 whilst serving in the Royal Engineers in Libya. He is buried in Tobruk War Cemetery.