Mollie Doreen Phillips

OBE 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 ...

(27 July 1907 – 15 December 1994) was a British

figure skater Figure skating is a sport in which individuals, pairs, or groups perform on figure skates on ice. It was the first winter sport to be included in the Olympic Games, with its introduction occurring at the 1908 Olympics in London. The Olympic d ...

and Olympic judge. She is regarded as a pioneer in the sport. Phillips was the first woman to carry a national flag at the opening ceremony of an Olympic Games when she led out Great Britain at the

1932 Winter Olympics The 1932 Winter Olympics, officially known as the III Olympic Winter Games and commonly known as Lake Placid 1932, were a winter multi-sport event in the United States, held in Lake Placid, New York, United States. The games opened on February 4 ...

. In 1961 she became High Sheriff of

Carmarthenshire Carmarthenshire (; or informally ') is a Principal areas of Wales, county in the South West Wales, south-west of Wales. The three largest towns are Llanelli, Carmarthen and Ammanford. Carmarthen is the county town and administrative centre. ...

, the first woman to hold the title.

Biography

Mollie Doreen Phillips was born in London on 27 July 1907. Her father was George Phillips. She studied law at

Lincoln's Inn The Honourable Society of Lincoln's Inn, commonly known as Lincoln's Inn, is one of the four Inns of Court (professional associations for Barrister, barristers and judges) in London. To be called to the bar in order to practise as a barrister ...

but focussed much of her time on figure skating. In 1949 she became the Cardiganshire County Commissioner for the

Girl Guides Association Girlguiding is the operating name of The Guide Association in the United Kingdom, previously named The Girl Guides Association, which was formed in 1910. It is the original Girl Guides organisation in the world and, in 1928, became a founding m ...

. She held a variety of other public appointments, including Justice of the Peace, a member of the local police authority, and a General Commissioner of Income Tax. In 1949 Phillips became the manager of a dairy farm and found a new career as a breeder of dairy cattle. Phillips died in

Lambeth Lambeth () is a district in South London, England, which today also gives its name to the (much larger) London Borough of Lambeth. Lambeth itself was an ancient parish in the county of Surrey. It is situated 1 mile (1.6 km) south of Charin ...

, Greater London on 15 December 1994 at the age of 87.

Skating career

Phillips was trained by Howard Nicholson and paired up with Rodney Murdoch to compete. In 1933 they skated as a partnership, winning the British championship and then bronze at the

European Figure Skating Championships The European Figure Skating Championships are an annual figure skating competition sanctioned by the International Skating Union (ISU). Medals are awarded in single skating, men's singles, women's singles, pair skating, and ice dance. The ...

. After Murdoch retired she focussed on the singles events, achieving some success in British and European competitions. Phillips competed at the

Lake Placid, New York Lake Placid is a Administrative divisions of New York#Village, village in the Adirondack Mountains in Essex County, New York, Essex County, New York (state), New York, United States. In 2020, its population was 2,205. The village of Lake Placid ...

, and the 1936 Games at

Garmisch-Partenkirchen Garmisch-Partenkirchen (; ) is an Northern Limestone Alps, Alpine mountain resort, ski town in Bavaria, southern Germany. It is the seat of government of the Garmisch-Partenkirchen (district), district of Garmisch-Partenkirchen (abbreviated ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

. She competed in the women's singles event of the figure skating, finishing 9th and 11th respectively. Phillips was the first woman to carry the flag and lead out her national team at any Olympic Games. The 1932 British Winter Olympic team comprised only four athletes, all in figure skating and all female. Phillips was by far the senior member of the team at the age of 24 compared to

Joan Dix Joan Dix (later ''Jones'', 3 August 1918 – 1991) was an English figure skater who competed in ladies singles. In 1932 she finished tenth at the Winter Olympics and world championships, and seventh at the European championships A European Cha ...

, the second oldest, at just 13 years of age. The other two competitors, Cecilia Colledge and Megan Taylor, were both 11. In 1939 her election to the Council of the

National Ice Skating Association British Ice Skating (formerly the National Ice Skating Association) is the national governing body of ice skating within the United Kingdom. Formed in 1879, it is responsible for overseeing all disciplines of ice skating: figure skating (sing ...

, becoming the first woman to have such a role, caused some controversy amongst some of the men in charge of the sport. She went on to become a high-profile figure skating judge and, at the 1948 World Figure Skating Championships, the first woman to referee a world championship.

Results

with Rodney Murdoch

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Phillips, Mollie 1907 births 1994 deaths British female single skaters British female pair skaters Olympic figure skaters for Great Britain Figure skaters at the 1932 Winter Olympics Figure skaters at the 1936 Winter Olympics Figure skaters from London High sheriffs of Carmarthenshire 20th-century British farmers 20th-century British women farmers European Figure Skating Championships medalists Officers of the Order of the British Empire