Gerry (Geraint) Phillips

[seacasa]

Please can anyone out there help me? I had a very good friend who I unfortnately completely lost track of about 12 years ago when I was pregnant with my eldest daughter. It didn't worry me too much at first, as it was one of those great friendships where we just "picked up" from where we'd left off, after months of not contacting eachother due to him being out of the country a lot, BUT after YEARS of not being able to contact him and having browsed this site, the alarm bells are RINGING!! :(

Could anyone out there please tell me if the Gerry (Geraint) Phillips mentioned on this site used to live in Ditton, nr Maidstone, Kent, had a son called Allin, who was something technical to do with diamond (?) mining, a daughter named Kerry (I think!) had a large, totally daft cat who frequently caught rabbits and brought them into the house! Was a helicopter pilot, had a place in Naivasha, Kenya, was involved in crop spraying out there, was a rally driver in the past, wrote for one of the motor mags, drank in the Little Gem pub in Aylesford, frequently burst into Swahili when aggravated and was a complete and utter lunatic!!!!

As I say, although I am REALLY hoping these are two completely different Gerry Phillips, I have an awful feeling that they're not and that due to moving home and being dreadfully ill during pregnancy, I've lost a truly wonderful friend without even knowing.

Any help anyone may be able to give me would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks and regards

Sara Avila

Seacasa

[seacasa]

130 views, yet STILL no replies and NO news of my friend :confused: :confused:

I'm a little puzzled and more than a little disappointed - I really HOPED a site dedicated to Rallying would have been able to help me. BUT I live in hope - if ANYONE out there could provide me with ANY help, I would be extremely grateful, even if it's only to confirm that the reason I've not been able to contact my friend is that he indeed died at the time I lost contact, and that nobody bothered to let me know so that I might have paid my final respects. :( :( :(

[MrJan]

I've never heard the name but a quick google search led be back to this forum again. Apparently Phillips was Rallies Editor of MOtoring News (now Motorsport News). Also he seemed to have a connection with Port Talbot Motor Club. Either of those would be a better place to contact :)

[inimitablestoo]

Sadly I can confirm that Geraint died in 1996 in a car accident in Kenya; I have the MN obituary in my '96 snippings.

[SianPhillips]

You probably aren't on this site anymore considering it was 11 years ago, but Geraint Phillips was my Grandfather (Alun being my dad)
As the accident that claimed my Grandfathers life was back in 1996, I was not alive when my grandfather was. I cannot get either of my parents to talk about him, so I was wondering if you would be able to tell me a bit more?

This a real stretch, so I don't expect any answer.

Sian Phillips.

[Zeakiwi2]

You would probably needs to find a person from one of the facebook groups, who might have known your GF through the Toyota Rally Team etc. Facebook Groups - Golden Years of Rallying, Marathon Rally History etc. There are people on there who were in the same events - e.g RAC of the early 1970s.
https://www.facebook.com/groups/goldenyearsofrallying/
https://www.facebook.com/groups/HistoricMarathonRallyGroup/
Co-driver for some of the best of the era
https://www.ewrc-results.com/coprofile/33644-geraint-phillips/

[D-Type]

Sian,
I'll ask on a couple of ex-Kenya Facebook groups. Can you PM me with your email and if anyone knew him I'll ask them to contact you direct.

[inimitablestoo]

Motor Sport magazine's online archive has this obituary from the time: https://www.motorsportmagazine.com/archive/article/january-1997/8/gerry-phillips

NB: The site operates a "x pages free before you have to pay" policy

[AndrewRobson]

Hey Sian,

My family used to live across the road from your Grand Dad. Ask your dad about the little boy who accidentally smashed your Grandads front window. Your Grandad was always a bit of a hero to me. I fondly remember going to the Lombard RAC rally with him and hanging out at the unofficial rally stops in the Lake District. He even gave me a cool sledge one year...it was awesome. My folks are still alive and live in France...I'm sure they could share some insights. I hope your family is doing well.

Regards
Andrew




QUOTE=SianPhillips;1210133]You probably aren't on this site anymore considering it was 11 years ago, but Geraint Phillips was my Grandfather (Alun being my dad)
As the accident that claimed my Grandfathers life was back in 1996, I was not alive when my grandfather was. I cannot get either of my parents to talk about him, so I was wondering if you would be able to tell me a bit more?

This a real stretch, so I don't expect any answer.

Sian Phillips.[/QUOTE