Richard Hill Phillips, born on 14th November 1897, was admitted to King Edward’s School in January 1911, after seven years at Edgbaston Preparatory School. He lived with his parents, Blanche and Gerald, a bedstead manufacturer, as well as his brother and his sister at various addresses: 117, Hagley Road; Beechcote, Berkswell; and finally 117, Lyttletone Road, Edgbaston. Richard’s brother, Wilfrid, also an Old Edwardian, attended Sandhurst and served as a Second Lieutenant with the Royal Warwickshire Regiment and Machine Gun Corps during the war.
Richard does not appear in any of the School magazines, suggesting that he was not a talented sportsman, but he performed well academically, placing in the top half of his class, with particular talents in drawing and science.
In December 1915, Richard gained his commission as a Second Lieutenant in the 13th Royal Warwickshire Regiment. He went to France with the 2nd Birmingham Pals (15th Royal Warwickshire Regiment), and died of his wounds on 25th September 1916 near Guillemont, aged eighteen. He is buried in Guards’ Cemetery, Lesboeufs, France, where his headstone bears a Star of David.