Mr. Phillips was one of the pioneer teachers in St. Patrick's School. He was educated in S.J.I. and started teaching
in the same school in 1923. Thus he was already an experienced and trained teacher when he joined St. Patrick's in 1933.
He taught Mathematics (his pet subject) to Std. 6 and 7 pupils right up to the Second World War. Many old boys would
remember his extreme dedication to his work. He was active in the school cadet corps and was its first O.C. from 1937 –
1941. Because of his cadet activity he was interned by the Japanese as a prisoner of war from 1942 – 1945.
Immediately after the war when many expatriate education officers went on one year full-pay leave to recuperate, Mr.
Phillips decided to resume teaching because of the great shortage of trained teachers. He forfeited his leave. He continued
to prepare innumerable patricians for the school certificate examination in mathematics from 1946 – 1964. he was a non-graduate
teacher who could produce better results than most graduates and was more painstaking. He was the mathematics 'wizard' of St.
Patrick's of that time. He spent altogether 42 years in the teaching service, most of which were in St. Patrick's.
His great sorrow was the accidental death of his son Jackie in 1982. Mr. Phillips has 3 other sons (all former Patricians) who are
happily married and living in Singapore. We wish Mr. and Mrs. Phillips many years of happy retirement.
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