John Hugh Phillipps (born

Auckland Auckland ( ; ) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. It has an urban population of about It is located in the greater Auckland Region, the area governed by Auckland Council, which includes outlying rural areas and ...

, 1 January 1898, died

Wellington, New Zealand Wellington is Capital of New Zealand, the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the List of cities in New Zealand, third-largest city ...

, 8 June 1977) was a New Zealand

cricket Cricket is a Bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball game played between two Sports team, teams of eleven players on a cricket field, field, at the centre of which is a cricket pitch, pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two Bail (cr ...

administrator. He managed the

New Zealand cricket team The New Zealand national cricket team represents New Zealand in men's international cricket. Nicknamed the Black Caps (), they played their first Test in 1930 against England in Christchurch, becoming the fifth country to play Test cricket. ...

's tours of England in

1949 Events January * January 1 – A United Nations-sponsored ceasefire brings an end to the Indo-Pakistani War of 1947. The war results in a stalemate and the division of Kashmir, which still continues as of 2025 * January 2 – Luis ...

and

1958 Events January * January 1 – The European Economic Community (EEC) comes into being. * January 3 – The West Indies Federation is formed. * January 4 ** Edmund Hillary's Commonwealth Trans-Antarctic Expedition completes the thir ...

, and the MCC's tour of New Zealand in 1960-61.''

Wisden ''Wisden Cricketers' Almanack'', or simply ''Wisden'', colloquially the Bible of Cricket, is a cricket reference book published annually in the United Kingdom. The description "Bible of cricket" (or variations thereof) has been applied to ''Wi ...

'' 1978, p. 1080.

Life and career

Phillipps served as a

rifleman A rifleman is an infantry soldier armed with a rifling, rifled long gun. Although the rifleman role had its origin with 16th century hand cannoneers and 17th century musketeers, the term originated in the 18th century with the introduction o ...

with the New Zealand forces in the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, and in the Transport Corps in the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

as a lieutenant colonel. He was appointed an

Officer of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

in the

1946 New Year Honours The 1946 New Year Honours were appointments by many of the Commonwealth Realms of King George VI to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries, and to celebrate the passing of 1945 and the beginn ...

. Of his management of the 1949 team, ''

'' commented: "No more efficient or courteous manager of a touring side can be imagined than Mr J.H. Phillipps." He also played in the two-day match against

Durham Durham most commonly refers to: *Durham, England, a cathedral city in north east England **County Durham, a ceremonial county which includes Durham *Durham, North Carolina, a city in North Carolina, United States Durham may also refer to: Places ...

but did not bat or bowl. A benefit match for him was played in Wellington in December 1956, between

Wellington Wellington is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the third-largest city in New Zealand (second largest in the North Island ...

and "J.H. Phillipps' XI", a team of players from the 1949 touring team. It was regarded as a first-class match at the time but was later downgraded by the New Zealand authorities, perhaps because many of the Phillipps XI had by that time retired from first-class cricket. Phillipps worked for the

Shell Shell may refer to: Architecture and design * Shell (structure), a thin structure ** Concrete shell, a thin shell of concrete, usually with no interior columns or exterior buttresses Science Biology * Seashell, a hard outer layer of a marine ani ...

company in New Zealand for 35 years. He retired in December 1957, at which time he was staff manager. He was also the chairman of the

New Zealand Broadcasting Corporation The New Zealand Broadcasting Corporation (NZBC) was a publicly owned company of the New Zealand Government founded in 1962. The Broadcasting Act 1976 then reformed NZBC as the Broadcasting Corporation of New Zealand (BCNZ). The corporation was ...

's central advisory program, and was the first executive of

Outward Bound New Zealand Outward Bound New Zealand (OBNZ) is a non-profit organisation providing experiential education in New Zealand. Its stated goal is to help participants reach their potential "through challenge in the outdoors". In total, more than fifty thousand ...

. After the ill-will caused during the MCC's tour of New Zealand in 1958-59, an MCC tour of New Zealand by a young side of Test aspirants was organised for the 1960–61 season, captained by the diplomatic

Dennis Silk Dennis Raoul Whitehall Silk (8 October 193119 June 2019) was an English first-class cricketer and a public school headmaster, as Warden of Radley College, from 1968 to 1991. He was a close friend of the poet Siegfried Sassoon, of whom he spoke ...

and managed by Phillipps. Phillipps was promoted to Commander of the

Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

in the

1960 New Year Honours The New Year Honours 1960 were appointments in many of the Commonwealth realms of Queen Elizabeth II to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries. They were announced in supplements to the ''Lon ...

. On 5 July 1960 he was one of 63 administrators and former players from overseas countries to be invited to become honorary life members of the MCC."M.C.C. Honour Overseas Cricketers", ''

'' 1961, p. 553. His brief ''

'' obituary described him as "a man universally loved and respected". ''

The Press ''The Press'' () is a daily newspaper published in Christchurch, New Zealand, owned by media business Stuff (company), Stuff Ltd. First published in 1861, the newspaper is the largest circulating daily in the South Island and publishes Monday t ...

'' in Christchurch described him as "efficient, confident, quick-minded and a fluent speaker". He is the grandfather of

Martin Phillipps Martin John James Phillipps (2 July 1963 – 28 July 2024) was a New Zealand singer-songwriter and musician. He was the lead singer and rhythm guitarist for The Chills. As part of the Dunedin sound, Phillipps and the Chills helped lay the groun ...

, founder of the New Zealand band

The Chills The Chills are a New Zealand indie rock band that formed in Dunedin in 1980. The band were fronted by founding mainstay singer-songwriter, guitarist Martin Phillipps (singer), Martin Phillipps (2 July 1963 – 28 July 2024). During the mid-1 ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Phillipps, Jack 1898 births 1977 deaths New Zealand cricket administrators New Zealand Commanders of the Order of the British Empire New Zealand military personnel of World War I New Zealand military personnel of World War II Sportspeople from Auckland