Casualty of WWII,Admiral,Sir Tom Phillips was born at Pendennis Castle in Falmouth.He was lost in the sinking of his flagship,the battleship,H.M.S.Prince of Wales, off Kuantan, Malaysia, whilst in command of Force Z during the Japanese invasion of Malaya. He was 53 and the son of Colonel Thomas Vaughan Wynn Phillips, Royal Artillery, and Louisa Mary Adeline de Horsey Phillips.[She was the daughter of Admiral Sir Algernon Frederick Rous de Horsey.] He left a widow,Lady Phillips of Bude, Cornwall.He He earned his nick-name because he was only 5'4" tall.At the time of his death he was one of the youngest Admirals in the Royal Navy and the highest ranking Allied officer killed in battle during the war.His career in the Royal Navy began in 1903 as a Sea Cadet. He became a Midshipman in 1904 and trained aboard HMS Britannia. He was promoted to Sub-Lieutenant on 9 April 1908, and to Lieutenant on 20 July 1909.He served in the Great War on destroyers in the Mediterranean and in the Far East. He was promoted to Lieutenant Commander on 15 July 1916, to Commander in June 1921, and to Captain in June 1927. In 1938, he was promoted to Commodore, commanding the destroyer flotillas of the Home Fleet, followed by appointment to Rear Admiral on 10 January 1939. In this role he was also acting as a naval adviser to King George VI. From 1 June 1939 until 21 October 1941, he was Deputy Chief of the Naval Staff and then Vice Chief of the Naval Staff by which time, Britain was at war with Germany and during this period he had attracted the attention of Churchill, war-time Prime Minister, who appointed him Acting Vice Admiral. He was made Commander-in-Chief of the China Station in late 1941, with the rank of Acting Admiral, and proceeded to his new headquarters in Singapore.[At this time, Britian was not at war with the Empire of Japan]

Awards and Decorations:
Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the British Empire
Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath
Distinguished Service Order