[5] He became apprenticed to an apothecary at Hay-on-Wye, possibly Mr Powell, before becoming a pupil of the celebrated London surgeon John Hunter of Jermyn Street.
[7] In 1798, he sailed home on sick leave; his ship was captured by a French privateer resulting in his temporary detention in Bordeaux.
[4] Phillips also started to set up some small libraries in mess rooms in order to further the education of soldiers serving in India.
[5] His main interest was in buying many thousands of books and donating them to a variety of reading rooms and scientific institutes.
[10] A huge range of subjects was covered, including travel and topography, natural history, literature, philosophy and theology.
Llandovery College was founded under the name of the Welsh Educational Institution, with a donation of £4,666 and a library of 7,000 books given by Phillips.
He specified that it be taught regularly and systematically at the college, and also "for some portion of the day" to be the sole medium of communication and instruction.