[2] Philip junior was educated at Winchester, where he was a contemporary of Hubert Doggart, a future England cricketer.
During the Second World War he served as an officer with the Royal Horse Artillery of the British Army, with the service number of 249035, before going up to Christ Church, Oxford.
In the University Match he played a large part in Oxford's innings victory: "Well-maintained length at fast-medium pace with the pavilion as background, coming from such a high delivery as that of the six feet four inches tall Whitcombe, seemed beyond interpretation by the Cambridge students, and in taking seven wickets for 51 runs he influenced the proceedings to such an extent that the other Oxford bowlers invariably checked any suggestion of easy scoring.
[7] A few days after that, playing only his second match for Middlesex, he dismissed Bill Brown and Don Bradman to leave the touring Australians 28 for 2.
[9] While working in India as a shipping agent for P&O, he met his wife-to-be, Rosemary, daughter of Lord Clydesmuir, the last Governor of Bombay.