Tracy Philipps

James Erasmus Tracey Philipps MC FRGS FRAI (Nov 1890– 21 July 1959), known as Tracy Philipps, was a British intelligence officer, colonial administrator and conservationist

Early life

Philipps was the son of the Reverend John Erasmus Philipps and Margaret, Viscountess Dillon. After his schooling at Marlborough College he entered Durham University, where he was a member of Hatfield, and graduated in 1912 with an arts degree.[1][2] He was Secretary of Durham University Boat Club in 1911.[3] He also became President of the Durham Union.[1]

Career

First World War

Philipps, who had been a Cadet in the Durham Officers' Training Corps during his student days, was gazetted as a 2nd Lieutenant in the Infantry in February 2013.[4] He joined the Rifle Brigade and later transferred as Captain to the South African Intelligence Department. He was wounded on attachment to the Kings African Rifles (for which he was Mentioned in despatches) and also present at the Battle of Bukoba.[1] He was awarded the Military Cross in 1917, which he received for his actions in conjunction with an intelligence section of the Belgian Force Publique during the Tabora Offensive.[5] In 1918 he moved to the Arab Bureau, working as an intelligence officer from their headquarters in Cairo. In this role he also spent periods of time in Jerusalem and Damascus.[1] With the war drawing to a close, he left the Bureau to serve on attachment to the British Embassy in Rome.[1]

Between the Wars

Philipps travelled on foot along the Equator from East to West Africa.[1] On the way he discovered by chance Lutra Paraonyx Philippsi, a clawless species of Otter that he decided to record for science and name after himself.[6] In 1921 he was a Relief Commissioner with the Red Cross during the Famine in Russia, and afterwards took a brief detour into journalism when he reported on the Greco-Turkish War for The Times newspaper.[1]

Following this experience he pursued a career in the Colonial Service in East Africa. He left in 1935, his last assignment being District Commissioner of the Lango District in Uganda.[6] A falling out with the Governor over how colonial administration was handled had seen him removed from that duty the previous year: Philipps having argued that the policy of 'indirect rule' (devolution of responsibility to native chiefs) brought out rampant corruption among the chiefs in power at the expense of the ordinary native population.[6]

During his time in Africa he was fond of exploring the tropical forests and writing his observations on the wildlife he encountered.[6] In 1930, he met Julian Huxley in the forests of Western Uganda whilst accompanying entomologists on a scientific mission.[7] He was an early advocate of the creation of large national parks in Equatorial Africa, believing that human encroachment on Gorilla habitat engendered aggressive behaviour.[7]

Later Life

In 1941 Philipps moved to Canada, where he was an adviser to the Canadian Government on immigrant European communities. In 1944 he joined the United Nations, working from New York, and later in Germany, as Chief of Planning Resettlement of Displaced Persons with the United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration.[1]

Philipps never formally retired. He devoted his later years to conservation, and was keen to ensure that countries fast approaching self-government realised the importance of conserving their wildlife and natural resources.[8] In 1955 he was elected Secretary-General to the International Union for the Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources.[8] He also became a Vice-President of the Hakluyt Society.[8]

Personal

Philipps married the Ukrainian pianist Lubka Kolessa and had one son.[9] He was a member of the Travellers Club.[1] In the aftermath of the Second World War he suggested settling dispossessed Jews in England.[10]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 "Philipps, Tracy". Who's Who 2018. Retrieved 6 October 2018.
  2. ↑ "Durham University calendar 1912-13". reed.dur.ac.uk. Retrieved 12 March 2018.
  3. ↑ "The Varsity". The Sphinx. 5 (5): 8. Retrieved 6 October 2018.
  4. ↑ "25 February 1913" (PDF). The London Gazette. Retrieved 6 October 2018.
  5. ↑ "Durham University Journal". reed.dur.ac.uk. 21: 480. Retrieved 6 October 2018.
  6. 1 2 3 4 Caccia, Ivana (2010). Managing the Canadian Mosaic in Wartime: Shaping Citizenship Policy, 1939-1945. McGill-Queen's Press. p. 78.
  7. 1 2 Caccia, Ivana (2010). Managing the Canadian Mosaic in Wartime: Shaping Citizenship Policy, 1939-1945. McGill-Queen's Press. p. 77.
  8. 1 2 3 Hindle, E. (1959). "Obituary: J. E. Tracy Philipps". The Geographical Journal. 125 (3/4): 473–473. Retrieved 7 October 2018.
  9. ↑ "Lubka Kolessa". The Canadian Encyclopedia. Retrieved 7 October 2018.
  10. ↑ "Letter: Uprooted Humanity - 21 Mar 1947". The Spectator Archive. Retrieved 7 October 2018.


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