Clive Phillipps-Wolley

Sir Clive Phillipps-Wolley (born Edward Clive Oldnall Long Phillipps, 3 April 1853 – 8 July 1918) was a British-Canadian official, author and big game hunter. His two most famous poems are perhaps The Sea Queen Wakes (1896) and Coronation Hymn composed in honour of the coronation of George V.

Early life

Edward Clive Oldnall Long Phillipps was born in 1853 as the eldest son of a public schoolmaster Richard Augustus Long Phillipps, who was distantly related to Lord Robert Clive. He was educated at Rossall School.

In 1877, as a legally entitled but distantly related male inheritor, he successfully petitioned to inherit his great-grandfather's Wolley estate with land covering about two hundred acres. He added the Wolley family name to his own and dropped "Edward" from his legal name.

Career

At age 20, Phillipps was appointed, to the vice-consulship of the British Legation in Kerch, Crimea. He explored and hunted big game in the Caucasus. He studied law, was called to the bar at Middle Temple but practised law for less than a year. After inheriting the Wolley estate, Phillips-Wolley resigned from the British consular service and joined the fourth battalion of the South Wales Borderers, taught marksmanship, and attained the rank of captain.

He was an active cricketer, playing during 1885-86 at county level for Shropshire while at club level for Shrewsbury, scoring in 6 matches 14 runs while taking 22 wickets.

In 1882, he went on a two-month hunting trip in British Columbia and in the autumn of 1887 he went, accompanied by his wife, on another visit to Canada and they stayed for a considerable time in Victoria, British Columbia.