Brian Philpott
8/3/1947 - 24/2/2022
Brian with Andrew Brockett.
Brian was a well-known figure at Philas House and at meetings of many Sydney stamp clubs. He was always happy to chat to anyone about anything – often at length. He was the long-time secretary of the Burwood and Districts Stamp Club (formerly Strathfield-Burwood), taking over the job from Paul Fletcher in the mid-1980s. He was for a period the President of the former Thematic Stamp Club.
Brian was born in Dunedin, New Zealand, and was a lifelong follower of the Otago Highlanders and NZ All Blacks rugby union teams even though he spent all his adult life in Sydney. He never became an Australian citizen and had to apply for a new New
Zealand passport when he went to the Dunedin Armistice Stamp Show in Dunedin in November 2018. On that trip he was able to look up old family friends and visit his parents’ graves. The former Burwood club president Ross Bernie, now based in NZ, drove Brian to the various sites in Dunedin that he wanted to visit.
Before his retirement, Brian worked in Sydney as the spare parts manager for several Ford car dealerships at different periods. Collectors always knew that Brian was attending their suburban club meeting when they saw the works truck in the car park. He had enough pairs of blue Ford work trousers to last throughout his retirement.
Brian had a significant collection of Swedish stamps with a sideline of stamp engraver Czeslaw Slania. Years ago, knowing that an entry of Sweden in a club competition would be identified as his, Brian maintained his anonymity by writing-up some pages on the theme of Nobel Prize winners. This was the beginning of a major collection which he pursued assiduously, collecting additional items like autographs if he was able to ambush Nobel Laureates such as Peter Doherty after lectures.
Brian’s siblings Ron and Irene and their families live in Brisbane and Dubbo respectively and have not been able to arrange a funeral in Sydney yet. They plan on holding an ashes-scattering ceremony in a few months time. All Sydney collectors who knew Brian (and we all did) send their condolences to the families.
Brian with well-known collectors (now deceased) Cyril McCulloch and Arthur Grey (2nd and 3rd from left)
Brian with Andrew Foldes.
.Brian with well-known collectors Geoff Lewis and the late Alf Campe.