Roger Howard Phillips MBE (16 December 1932 – 15 November 2021) was a British photographer, botanist and writer.[1]
Roger Phillips | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | Roger Howard Phillips 16 December 1932 Uxbridge, England |
| Died | 15 November 2021 (aged 88) |
| Occupation(s) | Photographer, botanist, writer |
Biography edit
Phillips was born on 16 December 1932 in Uxbridge to Philip and Elsie Phillips (née Williams).[2] He was educated at St Christopher School in Letchworth[3] and – after national service with the Royal Air Force in Canada[3] – at Chelsea School of Art.[4] He next joined Ogilvy & Mather Advertising, where he rose to be art director.[4] He turned freelance in 1968.[2][4] He took pictures for the album Goodbye for rock band Cream, on a commission from his friend Alan Aldridge, and later took pictures for the Jack Bruce albums Songs for a Tailor and Out of the Storm.[3]
He is best known as an expert on mushrooms and roses who wrote more than forty books on gardening and wild plants and fungi; many with Martyn Rix.[3][5] He was also an Honorary Garden Manager at Eccleston Square in London, where he lived,[3][6] and served as chair of the Society for the Protection of London Squares.[2]
He presented two six-part television series, 1994's The Quest for the Rose for BBC Television and, in 1995, The 3,000 Mile Garden for PBS.[2][3]
In later life he also exhibited his paintings.[3]
In the 2010 New Year Honours, Phillips was appointed a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE), for his "services to London Garden Squares".[7]
Personal life edit
Phillips' 1958 marriage to Pammy Wray ended in divorce; they had a son, and she predeceased him. He subsequently had two daughters with his second wife Nicky Foy, whom he married in 2003.[2][3]
Selected publications edit
- Phillips, Roger, and Jacqui Hurst. 1983. Wild food: [a unique photographic guide to finding, cooking and eating wild plants, mushrooms and seaweed]. London: Pan Books.
- Phillips, Roger, Derek Reid, Ronald Rayner, and Lyndsay Shearer. 1981. Mushrooms and other fungi of Great Britain and Europe. London: Pan Books.
References edit
- ^ Adams, Tim (15 March 2020). "Roger Phillips: 'Fungi will have a role in ridding the world of plastic'". The Guardian. Retrieved 19 November 2021.
- ^ a b c d e f "Roger Phillips, plantsman, mycologist, forager and photographer who produced a long series of acclaimed guides to the flora of the world – obituary". The Daily Telegraph. 26 November 2021. Retrieved 26 November 2021.
- ^ a b c d e f g h Russell, Tony (2 December 2021). "Roger Phillips obituary". The Guardian. Retrieved 10 December 2021.
- ^ a b c d "Roger Phillips dies aged 88". Horticulture Week. 19 November 2021. Retrieved 20 November 2021.
- ^ "Martyn Rix". Contributors. Cornucopia.
- ^ "Gardeners". Eccleston Square Garden. Retrieved 19 November 2021.
- ^ "MBE for man who transformed Pimlico garden". MyLondon. 4 January 2010. Retrieved 19 November 2021.