IND, Philip. Passed away on 14th September 2020

Philip was at the school from 1944-1951 and will be sadly missed by his friends and family.

We are conscious that many people from this time at school may not be in contact with us and we would be very grateful if you could pass on this information to those that you know.

As is usual practice, we would like to place an obituary for him in the next OI Journal and would be very grateful if anyone felt they could come forward to write one. Alternatively, if you know of any stories or memories, please pass them on so we could put them together for the publication. Address any contributions to me through oldipswichians@ipswich.school or in the comments below.

With best wishes

Iain Chesterman
OI Chairman

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Karl Daniels OI (1944-1953) writes:

Born in India Philip lived in Wickham Market to where his parents moved from Germany. His military father was stationed there until he was shot by an armed burglar. I remember Philip very well at School. He was in Sherrington House and a very accomplished rugby player gaining his 1st XV colours in 1951 still only fifteen.

The school lost a very good pupil when he left in 1951 gaining entry into Dartmouth for a naval career. Having completed his sea time as a midshipman he joined the Royal Navy Engineering College. After serving on a nuclear submarine which he could not accept on ethical and moral grounds although he was certainly not a pacifist, he was called to the Church and entered St John’s College, Durham for his ordination. It was there that he met his future wife, Marie-Therese, and together they went to Jerusalem for three years where Philip was head of maths and religious studies  - large, lively classes of Christians and Muslims – and never a dull moment and which lead him later in life to study the interfaith movement.  On returning to the UK he took up his first curacy at St John’s Church in Ipswich before moving on to Charlton Kings for four years.

Philip then became vicar of Gotherington in Gloucestershire until being appointed chaplain at Alleyns School in London for five years. He moved on to become assistant priest at St Georges’s in Beckenham before becoming vicar at St John’s in Bromley. It was thereafter a car crash that he discovered he had a serious heart condition leading to surgery. After his recovery, he was appointed Priest in Charge of Hurley and Stubbings in Berkshire with the job of uniting them into a single benefice. His note in the OI magazine says’ It must be one of the most beautiful parishes in the country, thank God we don’t get what we deserve ‘ – so illustrative of his modesty and humility. He lived for a while in Cookham Dean where he provided pastoral care and support for churches with interregnums. 

Philip studied theology all his life and finished his London BD (Hons) Degree in 1982. Listening to a lecture given by Archbishop Rowan Williams in 2008 on civil and religious law in England was a lightbulb moment in his thinking about the Gospel and the interfaith movement. His thesis for his Master’s in the London University MPhil degree on the relationship between Archbishop Rowan and Islam in the first decade of the 21st Century was extremely well received and marked something of a turning point in our culture’s understanding and assimilation of Islam. Subsequently, he was invited to give papers at home and abroad.

Philip and his wife returned to live in Melton to be close to their daughter who teaches at Woodbridge School, their son working in the City at Lloyds. He continued to help the church locally and was highly respected for the care he took in preparing his sermons. He was very fond of Ipswich School and the Chapel was a very special place for him. I enjoyed his company at one or two Ipswich OI Dinners which he attended. He found delight in the natural world, an enthusiastic and knowledgeable amateur ornithologist and it was while bird watching on Hazelwood Marsh that he collapsed and died.