The family and friends of a popular former Cardiff youth leader have paid tribute to him as a "courageous" man who "had time for everybody" following his death aged 80. Anthony Jellings, who was known affectionately as 'Mr Ely', is remembered fondly for doing "so much" for children in the area, particularly through his work at Trelai Youth Club over 20 years.
The much-loved father and grandfather died on August 10 and his funeral was attended by up to two hundred people from "all over", said his wife Janice Jellings, 77. Born and bred in Ely, as a young man Mr Jellings was "very, very brainy" and passed the scholarship for Howardian High School. But despite his academic talent, he didn't enjoy school and left as soon he could to go into retail.
His first job was as manager of a a Co-op store in Ely. He was there for a number of years and worked his way up to area manager. "When decimalisation came in, he couldn't handle that - so he left," said Janice. "He had a bit of a 'drop-out' era. We were married at the time."
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During this time, he "showed his hand at everything", working locally as a milkman, postman, and then as representative for a tool company. "So he was back in the collar and tie. He quite liked that. That was when he started working down in the youth club."
He started volunteering in the local youth club when it reopened in 1970 and later became a leader there. But before this, he had also taken over the running of a youth football team called Doyle Albion. "A local lad came and knocked on our door and said his father had left them and asked if Tony could take over this young football team - which he did," recalled Janice.
After he started working for the youth club, he merged the team with it so the players could use training facilities there. Mr Jellings also became interested in mountaineering and launched a group for this - Cardiff Youth Mountaineering Club - which met monthly at the youth centre.
"He was away quite a few weekends with the two groups. He used to take five-a-side football teams up to Scotland to competitions, and up to London," said Janice. After encouragement from one of the leading youth club leaders, Tony took up a job as an Education Welfare Officer for schools in Cardiff - a role which he "loved".
"Again, he was helping kids - he knew where they would mitch to, because he had done it himself. He was well thought of in all the schools he worked at. One of the cards he had off somebody said he was the best 'boardy man' ever," said Janice.
Mr Jellings was forced to retire in his 50s after being diagnosed with a heart condition called cardiomyopathy, which saw him undergo major operations. "I remember when he retired and his retirement speech was that he wanted to spend more time with his family," said Janice.
His life slowed down during his retirement and the youth club had shut down by this point - though he still made time to run a pub quiz every week and play boule. He also used to keep in touch with the boys - now men - who had been part of the football team and mountaineering group.
"I didn't know, but he'd also helped a lot of people - he just had that way about him. A chap came up to me and he said he'd saved his life - I think he was on the verge of committing suicide, I don't know. But he'd never talked about it and the lads found it difficult telling me," said Janice.
"He knocked my door just after Tony had died. 'What a great man,' he said, 'I always remember he saved my life.' He said he was sat over in Trelai Park, and Tony came over to him, chatted to him, put his arm around him.' I didn't know any of that - that was how he was....I was amazed, I really was. I didn't realise how important he was to these kids."
Describing Tony as "an Ely boy through and through" and a great "people person", Janice recalled that in his older years he would be "gone for hours" in the local Tesco, because he would meet so many people that knew him, including store staff and former youth members. "Wherever we went on holidays, he would bump into someone that knew him. It was amazing," she added. "We were in the south of France and we turned a corner and there were two lads from Ely who said: 'Hiya, Tony!'"
Paying tribute to Mr Jellings, 69-year-old Mark Gardiner, who played for the football team, said: "I lost my mum when I was 21 - four siblings younger than me were left in the house. That was difficult and Tony was really helpful at this point."
He added: "He was not just well-known, but he was well-liked by everybody. He didn't say anything bad to anybody - he was just one of those guys that would always help you. I'm surprised he never got any sort of recognition for it. Everyone knows the type of guy he was."
Eugene Cumberbatch, 67, who also played for Doyle Albion for ten years, knew Mr Jellings the longest out of all the boys when he was the manager of the Co-op. "We call Tony 'Mr Ely'. He's done so much for kids in Ely - he was just a great bloke. If they got into trouble, he would take them off the street, he'd take them to Storey Arms, go camping with them, get them down the youth club, play table tennis, snooker - he was that type of fella. It's just a really sad loss."
"He had time for everybody - whether it was sport, whether they had a problem. He was like a second father. If I had to say I had five really food friends, mentors, father figures in my life, he would be in the five." Anthony Jellings is survived by his wife, Janice, his two daughters, Samantha and Victoria, and his grandchildren, James and Florence.
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