Philip James Thomas (March 26, 1921 – January 26, 2007) was a Canadian teacher, musician and folklorist.
Born in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, Thomas entered the RCAF near the outbreak of World War II.
Through contact with local residents he developed an interest in folklore and storytelling through song.
Thomas developed his own philosophy of children’s art education that “honoured the child and how the child makes art.”[2] In 1959 he co-founded the Vancouver Folk Song Circle (later the Vancouver Folk Song Society), which became a vehicle to collect additional material.
[3] He played both guitar and banjo, and he and his wife Hilda Thomas (1928–2005) often performed together at folk festivals in British Columbia and western Canada.