Papers of John and Pauline Phillips

Papers of, and collected by, [William] John Phillips and his wife, Pauline. The papers relate to Henry Reed (1914-1986), poet, radio-dramatist and translator. They comprise letters and postcards; a number of Reed's literary works including manuscripts and typescripts of sonnets, poems and sketches; newscuttings including two of Reed's published articles; and two of Reed's unpublished literary works. Also includes a number of newspaper obituaries following the death of Henry Reed in 1986

William John Phillips (1914-1995) was born in Birmingham. He completed a BA Honours degree in English from the University of Birmingham in 1934, one year after Henry Reed graduated. Phillips began his acting career at the Birmingham Repertory Theatre during the 1930s. During the Second World War he served in the Royal Warwickshire Regiment and was awarded the Military Cross.

As an actor, he is perhaps best remembered for his role as Chief Superintendent Robins in the television series Z-Cars and Softly Softly (1962-1978). Other television roles included Danger Man (1962), Lieutenant Colonel John Whitley in Frontier (1968), Jack Frazer in The Onedin Line (1972-1976), Grand Duke Nicholas in Fall of Eagles (1974), Naso in Jesus of Nazareth (1977), and Dr Charles Langley-Beard in The Old Men at the Zoo (1983). His early theatre roles included the Ghost in the 1955 Peter Brook and Paul Scofield production of Hamlet at the Phoenix Theatre; the American Ambassador in Peter Ustinov's 1957 production of Romanoff and Juliet; and Prospero in the 1959 production of John Dryden and William Davenant's version of The Tempest, at the Old Vic. Phillips continued to work as a stage actor until his retirement in the 1980s. He died at Oswestry, Shropshire on 11 May 1995.

John Phillips married Pauline Margaret Francis Phillips (nee Jones) in 1940. The couple had two sons. Pauline graduated with a BA Honours degree in English from the University of Birmingham in 1939. The couple met through the Birmingham University Dramatic Society (BUDS). It was here that they formed a friendship with Henry Reed which lasted until Reed's death in 1986.

Further details of the life of Henry Reed can be found in MS31.

Sources: papers of John Phillips; John Phillips obituary (http://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/obituaries--john-phillips-1619967.html) viewed 8 February 2011; John Phillips (actor) webpage (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Phillips_(actor)) viewed 8 February 2011.

Open. Access to all registered researchers.

Papers presented to Special Collections in April 2001 by John and Pauline Phillips' son.

Please see full catalogue for more information.

Papers arranged and described by Mark Eccleston, February 2011.

Permission to make any published use of any material from the collection must be sought in advance in writing from the Director of Special Collections (email: special-collections@contacts.bham.ac.uk). Identification of copyright holders of unpublished material is often difficult. Special Collections will assist where possible in identifying copyright owners, but responsibility for ensuring copyright clearance rests with the user of the material.

These papers were collected by [William] John Phillips, actor, and his wife Pauline.

Related Material
Full catalogues of the following collections relating to Henry Reed are available for:

MS2: the papers of Walter Allen, a contemporary of Henry Reed during their time at the University of Birmingham in the 1930s;
MS31: papers of Henry Reed;
MS61: papers of, and collected by, John Phillips which relate to Henry Reed;
MS672: letters addressed to Ed and Sharon Leimbacher from Henry Reed;
MS902: a DVD listening and viewing copy of the reminiscences of Michael Ramsbotham, produced in June 2016;
MS969: papers of Alan Michell relating to Henry Reed.

A copy of Jon Stallworthy's book, 'Henry Reed: Collected Poems', Manchester: Carcanet Press, 2007 (shelfmark: r PR 6035.E3). A review of the collection can be found in the Special Collections department's publication 'Research Libraries Bulletin', Number 6, Autumn 1998.

The Shakespeare Institute library holds 'Hilda Tablet and others: four pieces for radio' by Henry Reed, London: British Broadcasting Corporation, 1991 (shelfmark: PR 6035.E4).

Associated Materials
Other isolated material relating to Henry Reed can be found on the University of Reading's Location Register: www.locationregister.com