The Memorial Service for the late Ian Philips
The fourth and final headmaster of Eaglehurst College, Ian Philips, passed away on 15 October 2015, aged 95. He left his body to science so there was no funeral but a memorial service was held on 15 January 2016 at the Church of St Michael and All Angels, Northampton. The service was open to all and many Old Boys of Eaglehurst chose to attend. A reception followed hosted by his family at the Old Northamptonians Clubhouse.
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It was by chance that I stumbled across the Eaglehurst website just before Christmas and read of the passing of Mr Philips, our headmaster. It is over forty years since I left the school and apart from the occasional fond thought, I’m sorry to say, due to being occupied with all that’s happened in the intervening years, I hadn’t given school days much thought.
On reading that Mr Philips had donated his body to science and that there was a proposed memorial service, I knew that I wanted to attend and pay my respects. Of course, the memories have come flooding back since. Eaglehurst days for me were a happy time. Primary school had damaged my confidence and Eaglehurst was set to make amends.
Although this should be an account of the service, I make no apologies for digressing and adding some memories which I am sure will be general to us all. After all, without Mr Philips at the helm we wouldn’t have them and, for me, memories provoked by the memorial service are inextricably combined.
The service was held at St Michael & All Angels Parish Church, Northampton on Friday 15th January 2016. This fine Victorian building is constructed from red brick and not far from the old school. Just before twelve noon, members of the congregation began to arrive and chat to each other. I introduced myself to a former pupil who had preceded me and we shared many memories, the dinner menu being one of them. I estimate that there must have been about sixty Old Boys and the church was full. Some of the old boys were wearing items of uniform; I saw a scarf and a polished brass eagle worn on a lapel.
The uniform of course was quite a statement. I recently saw an image of the school dining room with its dark brown glossy painted walls. It reminded me of the school’s stark decor and its basic level of facilities. However, something needed to be a foil for the stylishness and dare I say flamboyancy of the uniform with the blazers of broad cherry red and navy blue stripes. We were expected to be immaculate in our appearance. The House Captains on duty made sure of that during the house line-ups in the playground before lessons started.
We were reminded that Stanley Ian Philips (Ian) was born in Tunbridge Wells in 1920 and educated at Brighton College. He went to Oxford University in 1940. Active service took him to India and at the end of the war he returned to Oxford. Preceded by his father, he was headmaster at Eaglehurst from 1950-1972 when the school closed.
One of the hymns was 'He Who Would Valiant Be'. What an appropriate hymn for Mr Philips’ memorial service! Singing this hymn reminded me of the music lessons with Mrs Sanders when we would sing Jerusalem and rousing choruses.
Tributes were given from members of the family. We were informed of his cricketing achievements. Ian played in six County Championship matches for Northamptonshire between 1938 and 1939; his seventh and final first-class appearance was in India. He even played at Lords. His grandchildren told us of how he would make his time with them into an educational experience during activities such as investigating rock pools.
Reference was made to his nickname 'Brush' on account of his bushy moustache. This was our most commonly used name for him. He undoubtedly knew of this but we were never deterred. Not to be forgotten was 'the look'. Brush was a disciplinarian but in the fairest of ways. He had natural authority. I never remember a raised voice; 'the look', including the raised eyebrow would do it.
Louise Duff, one of Mr Philips’ great granddaughters sang ‘Pie Jesu’ by Gabriel Faure. She also sang Oh Danny Boy, unaccompanied and very beautifully. I’m sure that I’m not the only one who wanted to show appreciation of her contribution but of course the occasion didn’t call for applause. The service was dignified and quietly celebratory, so appropriate for this man.
After the service a reception was held by the family at the Old Northamptonians Clubhouse. This occasion provided the opportunity for us to continue and remember Mr Philips, reminisce about school days and meet his family in an informal setting. I’ve since learnt that there were many more boys there from my own era that I didn’t meet up with; perhaps something needs to be done about the organisation of reunions ?
I have been reminded of what an honour and privilege it was for me to have attended Eaglehurst and known Mr Philips. He was a true gentleman and educator and, in the words of John Bunyan, as Ian did throughout his life and therefore setting an example to the rest of us, "I’ll labour night and day to be a pilgrim".
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