John-Henry Phillips

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John-Henry Phillips
John-Henry Phillips.jpg
Phillips in 2025
Born15th November 1991 (age 33)
Bury St. Edmunds, United Kingdom
Education Bachelor of Arts, Master of Arts
Alma mater University of Leicester
Occupation(s) Author, archaeologist, filmmaker, television presenter
Years active2016 - Present
Known for Archaeology, human rights
Notable workThe Search, No Roses On A Sailor's Grave, Romani Community Archaeology
Television The Great British Dig, Digging For Britain
Awards Fellow of The Society of Antiquaries of London

John-Henry Phillips FSA is a British author, archaeologist, filmmaker, and television presenter. [1]

Contents

Early life and education

Phillips was born in Bury St. Edmunds and attended Thurston Community College. [2] [3] His early interest in archaeology was influenced by stories of a relative discovering the Mildenhall Treasure, exploring the remains of RAF Bury St. Edmunds, and picking up flint tools in Suffolk fields. Phillips left school to spend his late-teens touring Europe as a musician, before later attending West Suffolk College to obtain an Access to Higher Education Diploma. [3] He graduated university with a Bachelor's degree in Archaeology in 2016, and a Master's degree in Human Rights in 2022, both from the University of Leicester. [3]

Career

Phillips began his career as a commercial archaeologist in 2016. [4] In 2017, he launched a two-year project to search for LCH 185, a D-Day Landing Craft sunk off the coast of Normandy, and build a memorial to its crew alongside Patrick Thomas, the last survivor of its sinking. [5] [6] The archaeological recording of the craft's remains won the 2017 Nautical Archaeological Society's Adopt-A-Wreck award. [7] During this time Phillips appeared on BBC One's The One Show. [8]

Phillips created, produced, and appeared in the accompanying documentary No Roses On A Sailor's Grave . [3] In 2020, the film was selected for a number of international film festivals, including the Archaeological Institute of America's Arkhaios Cultural Heritage and Archaeology Film Festival in Spokane, NorthwestFest in Edmonton, Canada, Luleå International Film Festival in Sweden, and Indy Film Fest in Indianapolis. [9] The film was nominated for, and won, several awards, most notably a Director's Guild of Canada award. [10] The film was subsequently acquired by CBC and broadcast on Hollywood Suite in Canada in 2021, and on PBS America in the United Kingdom in 2022. [11] [12] [13]

In 2022 Phillips's debut book, The Search, was published globally in hardback and paperback by Hachette/Little, Brown. [14] The same year Phillips began co-hosting series 4 of The Great British Dig on Channel 4, alongside comedian Hugh Dennis, and archaeologist Chloe Duckworth. The series was broadcast in June 2023 and won 'Best Popular Factual Programme' at the Broadcast Digital Awards. [15] In October 2023, Phillips's career was highlighted in British Archaeology magazine. [16]

In 2024 Phillips created, scored and appeared in a short-film, Searching For Romani Heritage, for Historic England. [17]

In 2025 Phillips appeared in series 12 of BBC Two's Digging For Britain, alongside Alice Roberts, and authored an article on his Romani archaeology work for British Archaeology magazine. [18] [19]

Romani archaeology and human rights

Phillips is from a Romany background. [4] While writing The Search, Phillips founded Romani Community Archaeology, a non-profit created to undertake archaeological excavations of historic Romany Gypsy sites in the United Kingdom, in order to highlight human rights abuses of Romani people. [4] In autumn 2024 Romani Community Archaeology excavated a former 'Gypsy Rehabilitation Centre' - a site of forced assimilation created by the Forestry Commission in the New Forest in the 1960s. This marked both the first excavation of a historic Romany Gypsy site to take place in Britain, and the most modern dig ever featured on Digging For Britain. [20] An exhibition on the excavation, titled The Close, was opened by Phillips at the New Forest Heritage Centre in February 2025. [21]

Phillips regularly lectures on the topic of both Romani archaeology and Romani rights, most notably at Pembroke College, University of Oxford, House of Lords, Glastonbury Festival, Historic England, University of Liverpool, HMP Erlestoke, Council For British Archaeology, and Oxford Brookes. [22] [23] [24]

Personal life

Between 2019 and 2020, Phillips relocated to Calgary, Alberta, Canada, living in Valley Ridge, before moving to Walsham-Le-Willows, Suffolk, to write his debut book. He currently resides in Norfolk. [3]

Awards and honours

Phillips was elected a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries of London in 2024. [1]

References

  1. 1 2 "Mr John-Henry Phillips". Society of Antiquaries of London. Retrieved 2025-03-25.
  2. ↑ "John's promise to war veteran ignites film bid". Suffolk News. 2017-11-17. Retrieved 2025-03-25.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 "'As soon as I heard his story, I had to find his ship'". Great British Life. 2022-06-20. Retrieved 2025-03-25.
  4. 1 2 3 "Romani Archaeology Project – ACERT". 2023-05-02. Retrieved 2025-03-25.
  5. ↑ Rampton, James (2023-06-01). "WWII vet's quest to find D-Day shipwreck and build a memorial to lost shipmates". Express.co.uk. Retrieved 2025-03-25.
  6. ↑ "No Roses on a Sailor's Grave... | OThree Custom Drysuits". othree.co.uk. 2018-05-02. Retrieved 2025-03-25.
  7. ↑ "Adopt a Wreck Award". Nautical Archaeology Society. 2017-10-28. Retrieved 2025-03-25.
  8. ↑ "Southsea Sub-Aqua Club - The One Show". southseasubaqua.org.uk. Retrieved 2025-03-25.
  9. ↑ "No Roses on a Sailor's Grave". Go Button Media. 2023-05-31. Archived from the original on 2023-05-31. Retrieved 2025-03-25.
  10. ↑ Office, Directors Guild of Canada, National. "Nominees Announced for 19th Annual DGC Awards". www.newswire.ca. Retrieved 2025-03-25.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  11. ↑ "Hollywood Suite Acquires 'No Roses on a Sailor's Grave'". VideoAge International. Retrieved 2025-03-25.
  12. ↑ "Remembrance Day: No Roses on a Sailor's Grave". Hollywood Suite. 2021-11-08. Retrieved 2025-03-25.
  13. ↑ "No Roses on a Sailor's Grave". pbsamerica.co.uk. Retrieved 2025-03-25.
  14. ↑ "Robinson lands new memoir from archaeologist Phillips". The Bookseller. Retrieved 2025-03-25.
  15. ↑ "Best Popular Factual Programme: The Great British Dig". Broadcast. 2024-07-03. Retrieved 2025-03-25.
  16. ↑ CBA. "British Archaeology Back Issue 192 September/October 2023". archaeologyuk.org. Retrieved 2025-03-25.
  17. ↑ "There are fragments of Romani Gypsy history all over the UK – if one knows where to look". Aeon. Retrieved 2025-03-25.
  18. ↑ "Digging for Britain". bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 2025-03-25.
  19. ↑ "This has been my magazine baby for the past few weeks". linkedin.com. Retrieved 2025-03-25.
  20. ↑ "'Taking ownership of our own stories is more crucial than ever'". Travellers Times. Retrieved 2025-03-25.
  21. ↑ "The Close free exhibition - Visit the New Forest". thenewforest.co.uk. Retrieved 2025-03-25.
  22. ↑ "The Archaeology of The Romany | Pembroke college". pmb.ox.ac.uk. Retrieved 2025-03-25.
  23. ↑ CBA. "In conversation with... John Henry Phillips". www.archaeologyuk.org. Retrieved 2025-03-25.
  24. ↑ "John Henry Phillips | United Agents". unitedagents.co.uk. Retrieved 2025-03-25.
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