Born in 1943 Phillip first started playing the violin at school in Litchfield.  The family later moved to Huddersfield where he enrolled at the Technical College (Now Huddersfield University) to study Science Mathematics French and Zoology, but he continued to have violin lessons with a local teacher, joining the  youth orchestra and the Yorkshire Youth Orchestra.

Having passed the ABRSM Grade 5 and Grade 8 exams with distinction and playing first violin regularly with the Huddersfield Philharmonic Society, Phillip had free lecture periods at college  so also played first violin  with the music department orchestras.

There, he was persuaded that teaching music might be a reasonable career option and so enrolled in a Diploma class at the Huddersfield  College Music Department (now the University School of Music)  to study for a
Dip Mus (Teachers) and violin ARCM under Lawrence Turner, former leader of the Hallé orchestra.

A very short period of teaching general school subjects followed this, but  with a science background  Phillip left teaching to work in Hospital Pathology specializing in Bacteriology, Histology and Hematology.  Violin Playing went on the back burner and was hardly touched until he retired to France, when, after some years,  interest was rekindled after hearing a concert by the local Orchestre Symphonique du Trégor, where he was accepted to play first violin.

After some 25 years living in France, Phillip returned to live in Southport where he played 1st violin with the Southport Orchestra and the Ormskirk Music Society orchestra. Several moves later he was back and  living in Blackpool playing first violin with the Blackpool Symphony and the Fylde Concert Orchestra. He now lives in Fleetwood.

Phillip has had many interests including (of course) Violin playing, Potholing, Film making,  Sailing, Astronomy, Telescope Mirror making and Cycling.