Henry Parnham Phillips
Henry Parnham Phillips (1856-1896)
1896 Obituary [1]
HENRY PARNHAM PHILLIPS, second son of the late Mr. L. Parnham Phillips, of Wendover, was born on the 26th of October, 1856.
He was educated at Bedford, where he distinguished himself as an athlete, excelling in cricket and football.
In September, 1873, he entered the London and North Western Railway works at Crewe as an apprentice, and after passing through the shops and drawing-office served for nearly four years as a locomotive foreman, first at Holyhead and then at Stafford.
He next became, in January, 1883, Assistant Manager at Messrs. Sharp, Stewart and Company's works, Manchester, where he remained until the following December, when he was appointed Manager of the shops of the Scinde, Punjab and Delhi Railway at Lahore, under Mr. Charles Sandiford, the Locomotive Superintendent of that line.
Mr. Phillips held that post for six months, when he became Assistant Locomotive Superintendent of the Burma State Railways, and for some years lived near Rangoon.
In 1893 he contracted severe fever, the result of a long day's snipe shooting in the marshes, and from that time his health gradually broke down. Although a prolonged stay in Switzerland benefited him temporarily, his return to India was followed by a renewal of his old complaint. He finally journeyed to South Africa, and, when getting stronger, was attacked by influenza. A form of pneumonia supervened, to which he succumbed, quietly and painlessly, at Bloemfontein, on the 30th of March, 1896.
Mr. Phillips was an ardent sportsman, being an exceptionally good shot. Those who got beneath his reserved and reticent manner, discovered his genuine worth, and esteemed him as an able engineer, and an honourable man.
He was elected an Associate Member on the 4th of April, 1886.