John Ian Frederick Phillips affectionately called ‘Big’ John was born on March 08, 1933 in Georgetown, British Guiana (now Guyana). He is a former champion athlete, swimmer boxer commercial pilot, flight instructor, entrepreneur, geologist, and family man. He was married to the late June Daphnie Poole of Birmingham, England and they are the proud parents of two daughters.
John Ian Frederick Phillips affectionately called ‘Big’ John was born on March 08, 1933 in Georgetown, British Guiana (now Guyana). He is a former champion athlete, swimmer boxer commercial pilot, flight instructor, entrepreneur, geologist, and family man. He was married to the late June Daphnie Poole of Birmingham, England and they are the proud parents of two daughters.
John Graduated from Queen’s College in 1949/50 when the school was located on Brickdam and the headmaster was Capt. H. Nobbs. John excelled in field events capturing the under 11, 13, 15 and under 17 age group championships.
As a teenager, John was British Guiana’s National Swimming Champion from 1947-51 and was British Guiana’s Single and Double Sculls National Champion from 1948-1950, an achievement he repeated in 1967 and 1968. John was also a boxing enthusiast and trained as a boxer from an early age. He was often compared by his peers for his boxing skills and agility to the great world heavyweight champion Floyd Patterson.
After leaving Queen’s College, John went to Canada where he joined the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF). His works responsibilities took him to Kitimat, northwestern British Columbia. It was there that his boxing prowess gained more attention when he entered a local boxing competition. ‘Big” John became heavily favored and went on to win the North Western Heavyweight Boxing Championship by defeating Roy Toomes of Canada (c. 1954). John has the distinction of representing British Guiana internationally in the July 1954 British Empire and Commonwealth Games held in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.
John then pursued more studies, this time in the USA, and after completing an AA in pre-law at Fullerton College, California (1957) he completed a BS in Geology at the University of Oklahoma, Norman, in 1959. He continued on at Norman, Oklahoma until 1960, doing graduate work in Geology. Whilst studying in the USA, he represented Fullerton College as well as the University of Oklahoma in Conference Swimming Championships. At Fullerton College in California Big John became the first student ever to be nominated for both the Academic and Athletic awards in the same year! He as an All American Swimmer in 1955-57. During the 1960s in Guyana, John applied his geological expertise in diamond and gold exploration, and became a partner in Piper Aircraft Dealership, served as Chief Pilot for Reynolds Metals Guyana Ltd, and was sole proprietor and President of Deb Air, Inc. In 1965 John handily won the highly publicized cross-Demerara river three-quarter mile swim race (Vreed-en-Hoop Selling to John Fernandes’ wharf) in 16.5 minutes. John was Captain of the Demerara Rowing Club 1961-66, and served as President of the club 1967-68.
In the 70s and 80s, Big John’s professional responsibilities in Florida, USA included Ground and Flight Instructor, Air Florida Flight School, President of the Miami Beach Ocean Rescue, President of the Miami Beach Employees Benevolent Association, Division Supervisor of the Miami Beach Ocean Rescue, and Director of Recreation and Cultural Activities for the city of Miami Beach.
Bio By David Rampy, Queen's College, 1968-'76
Photos By Miles Williams and others
