William Garside Phillips (13 April 1849 - 1 January 1929) was a pioneer in mining education, the managing director of Ansley Hall Colliery and chair of the Atherstone Rural District Association from 1907 to 1929.

At his funeral, a wagon carrying over 100 wreaths, “a great many of which were representative ones sent from big groups of people” followed the procession.

His studies involved walking eight miles to Queen's College, Manchester and back, for evening classes, following a 13-hour shift in the mine.

[2] In December 1879 he moved to Warwickshire to become managing director of Ansley Hall Coal and Iron Company's colliery.

At that point the colliery was “in a more or less critical condition”[3] and Phillips “converted an unprofitable undertaking into one of the most up-to-date and successful pits in the country.