Roger Howard Phillips MBE (16 December 1932 – 15 November 2021) was a British photographer, botanist and writer.[1]
Roger Phillips | |
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Born | Roger Howard Phillips 16 December 1932 Uxbridge, England |
Died | 15 November 2021 | (aged 88)
Occupation(s) | Photographer, botanist, writer |
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]
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]