Phil was born on the 12th of November 1953 in Pinxton to Bill and Betty. It was a large and lively household as Phil was the third child out of twelve.
He was a lively, active boy and I'm sure it won't come as a surprise to any of you to hear that he got himself into the odd bit of trouble here and there. He and his pal Tom Thumb, yes really, got into a bit of bother when started flicking paper clips at their teacher, Mr Tucker.
This earned the pair six of the best, but I understand that Phil didn't flinch and assured his friend that it didn't hurt. He did, however, make it his mission in life to be as irritating to Mr Tucker as possible.
As he grew up he mixed with the punk and skinhead crowds.
Organised fights behind the waltzers at fairs weren't uncommon. He never backed down, never ran, he always faced things head on. He would always assure his opponents "If you hit me, you'd better make sure I stay down!"
Phil met Wendy Clarke and they became a couple, marrying on the 29th of November 1975 at Ilkeston register office. Tarnya was born that year and I'm told Phil pushed her all the way home from City Hospital in her pram, proudly shouting "T'm a dad!" to anyone who'd listen. Ricky came along the following year and baby Phil completed the family by arriving in 1981 and delighting his dad because, as he said, "The last lad, he'll carry my name on".
I understand that he was a strict dad, setting an example that stood all the children in good stead later in life. They told me that for every minute they were late coming back from the youth club their dad grounded them for a day. They still managed to time it perfectly though, even fitting in a visit to the chippy on the way.
Their dad was always first up and delighted in waking the kids up by whipping the quilts off their beds on his way out to get the paper.
Phil was by now working for himself at P I Builders as a general builder, joiner and roofer. He wasn't scared of heights and showed no fear. Both Phil and Ricky worked with him and were occasionally concerned at his eternal optimism. When things turned out OK in the end their dad would always cheerily say "Told you we'd be alright!"
At the same time, he ran The Railway in Long Eaton. He'd always wanted to run a pub and The Railway was the first pub locally to take advantage of the change in licensing laws and open for 24 hours.
Anyone who has worked in the licensed trade will know what hard work it was, but Phil wasn't afraid of that. The boys worked on the doors in the evenings, and I'm told there was never any trouble.
Phil and Wendy went their separate ways 28 years ago. But Phil did Yvetle. He told Ricky that he like inSta, tith sui, Roy went
over and told her. It turned out that Y vette liked the look of Phil too and he was, in his words "Well chuffed". He'd found the love of his life and they spent five wonderful years together. Y vette came to Phil's family with her daughter Kim, so Phil gained a daughter and his children gained a sister. Phil and Yvette married just four months before Yvette sadly passed away, leaving Phil heartbroken.
A great consolation to Phil were his grandchildren, who he loved deeply. There's Jodie, Shanade, Chloe, Lauren, Clarissa and Dylan, the only grandson. A further generation eventually came along with his great grandchildren Paris, Hadley and Ava, and I understand that there's another little girl on the way.
Phil was a father, son, brother, grandad, great grandad and husband. We all loved him very much, he used to always bet on the horses 7 or 12 and loved a grey/white horse (they were the lucky ones)
Over recent years Phil had not had the best of health. He suffered from COPD, not helped by his two African grey parrots who he loved.
They talked like Phil, they coughed like Phil and just wouldn't shut up, but he would never part with them. They have now been entrusted to Kim.
Phil was loved and respected by many many people. This loveable rogue will be sadly missed by everyone who knew him and loved him.
May he rest in peace.
Photos 💙
Memories