Hubert Phillips

Phillips

Hubert Phillips (13 December 1891 – 9 January 1964)[1] was a British economist, journalist, broadcaster, bridge player and organiser, composer of puzzles and quizzes, and the author of some 70 books.

Life

Education and early career

Phillips was educated at Sexey's School, Bruton, and Merton College, Oxford, where he read History and Economics, taking a first class degree.[2] He served in the British Army with the Essex Regiment throughout World War I.

After the war, he became Head of the Department of Economics at Bristol University and Head of Extra-Mural Studies 1919–24;[2] he was Director, Liberal Research Dept 1924; Economic Advisor and Secretary, Liberal Industrial Enquiry 1924–28; and adviser to the Parliamentary Liberal Party 1926-8.[2] He stood as a Liberal Party candidate in 1929 at Wallasey.[2] He joined the News Chronicle in 1930.[3]

Later career

Phillips' later career was as a journalist, broadcaster, freelance author, and organiser.

Phillips was the founder (1932) and editor (1936–39) of the British Bridge World,[4] and a pioneer of bridge organisation in England. He was the first chairman of the English Bridge Union in 1936. He was a key person in setting up the first Anglo-American match (Buller v Culbertson). He was the devisor and co-presenter of the first ever bridge programs on television, BBC 1936. These were programs which involved discussion of pre-selected hands, displayed on boards, followed by their bidding and play by expert pairs. Some of the hands were taken from famous matches, others were devised by Phillips. After play, comparison might be made, for example, with the play on the same hand in the Beasley–Culbertson match. The series was thought to be a great success, though of course viewership was limited in those days.[5][6][7]

As an author (the greater part of his income) he wrote on bridge, and on general knowledge, intellectual, mathematical and bridge puzzles and quizzes. Chess, he said, was his favourite game, but he wrote little on that subject.[8][9] He wrote over 100 crime stories. He composed thousands of puzzles, both mathematical and inferential, and about 6000 crosswords. He wrote on bridge for the News Chronicle as 'Nine-spot',[10] as well as being (by his own testimony) the chief leader writer for the paper for several years during World War Two.[11] He also contributed to The Nation and The New Statesman[10] as 'Caliban'. He was the editor of the London early editions of Ely Culbertson's Contract Bridge Blue Book.[12] He broadcast regularly on BBC radio – on Transatlantic Quiz and its offshoot Round Britain Quiz and later, on occasion, The Brains Trust. In his heyday he earned a five-figure income; but in later years a fondness for drink and gaming led to a decline in his fortunes.

Phillips as a bridge writer and as an organiser was always in competition with A.E. Manning Foster, who had been a professional player since the days of auction bridge, and was the bridge correspondent of The Times. Each of them founded a magazine (Foster's was the Bridge Magazine) and a duplicate bridge organisation (Phillips' was the National Bridge Association, founded 1933). It was not until after WWII that the two organisations were unified.[13] He helped Terence Reese on his first steps to becoming a professional contract bridge player, and co-authored several books with him.

Phillips donated the Hubert Phillips Bowl for the English Mixed Teams Championship. This competition has been played annually since 1937, with the exception of 1939–46, and is the only major event in the country played with aggregate scoring.

Opinions of colleagues

"For many years Phillips was internationally the most eminent author of intellectual and mathematical puzzles under the name "Caliban" and "Dogberry", and of cryptic crosswords."[4]
"He never lost his courtesy and good humour... he had a largeness of spirit that one seldom sees in this game or indeed in these times."[14]
"Oh, yes, bridge players owe a lot to Hubert Phillips, particularly in the South [of England] where he organised and founded the English Bridge Union and the Duplicate Bridge Control Board." H. St John Ingram[15]

A riddle by H.P.

My first wears my second, my third might be,
What my first would acquire if he went to sea,
Put together my one, two, three,
And the belle of New York is the girl for me.

Personal life

Phillips was married twice: in 1919, to Margery Davies, who died in 1959, with whom he had a son, John, who died in 1961; and in 1961 to Madeleine Bartlett.[2]

Selected works

Bridge

Other subjects

References

  1. ↑ "Mr. Hubert Phillips". The Times. London, England. 11 January 1964. p. 12. Retrieved 5 August 2014 – via The Times Digital Archive. (subscription required (help)).
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 Levens, R.G.C., ed. (1964). Merton College Register 1900-1964. Oxford: Basil Blackwell. pp. 80–81.
  3. ↑ British Bridge World (December 1934). "Hubert Phillips". In Hasenson, Peter. British Bridge Almanack. (2004). London: 77 Publishing. p. 215. ISBN 0-9549241-0-X.
  4. 1 2 Francis, Henry G., Editor-in-Chief; Truscott, Alan F., Executive Editor; Francis, Dorthy A., Editor, Sixth Edition (2001). The Official Encyclopedia of Bridge (6th ed.). Memphis, TN: American Contract Bridge League. p. 713. ISBN 0-943855-44-6. OCLC 49606900.
  5. ↑ Ingram, H. St John 1963. First televised game of bridge. British Bridge World, November 1963, reprinted in Hasenson P. British Bridge Almanack. 77, London. p20
  6. ↑ Baxter, George 1937. Bridge on the television. British Bridge World, September 1937, reprinted in Hasenson P. 2004. British Bridge Almanack. 77, London. p31
  7. ↑ Ingram, H. St John 1952. Personality of the month: Hubert Phillips. Contract Bridge Journal, February 1952.
  8. ↑ Phillips, Hubert 1960. Journey to Nowhere. MacGibbon & Kee, London.
  9. ↑ Winter, Edward 2005. Chess Notes Archives #3551 Hubert Phillips: www.chesshistory.com/winter/winter05.html
  10. 1 2 Culbertson, Ely, editor (1935). The Encyclopedia of Bridge. New York: The Bridge World Inc. p. 329.
  11. ↑ "The 'News Chronicle'-2", The Spectator, 21 October 1960, Page 10. Retrieved 30 November 2013
  12. ↑ Tim, Bourke; Sugden, John (2010). Bridge Books in English from 1886–2010: an annotated bibliography. Cheltenham, England: Bridge Book Buffs. p. 461. ISBN 978-0-9566576-0-2.
  13. ↑ Jack Marx says they were united in 1938: see Introduction to the Country Life book of bridge, 1972.
  14. ↑ Reese, Terence (1964). "Hubert Phillips 1891–1964". In Hasenson, Peter. British Bridge Almanack. (2004). London: 77 Publishing. pp. 214–215. ISBN 0-9549241-0-X.
  15. ↑ Ingram, H. St John 1952. Personality of the month: Hubert Phillips. Contract Bridge Journal, February 1952. p8

External links

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