Tracy Philipps

James Erasmus Tracey Philipps (Nov 1890– 21 July 1959), known as Tracy Philipps, was a British intelligence officer, colonial administrator and conservationist

Early life
Philipps was the son of the Reverend John Erasmus Philipps and Margaret, Viscountess Dillon. After his schooling at Marlborough College he entered Durham University, where he was a member of Hatfield, and graduated in 1912 with an arts degree. He was Secretary of Durham University Boat Club in 1911. He also became President of the Durham Union.

First World War
Philipps, who had been a Cadet in the Durham Officers' Training Corps during his student days, was gazetted as a 2nd Lieutenant in the Infantry in February 2013. He joined the Rifle Brigade and later transferred as Captain to the South African Intelligence Department. He was wounded on attachment to the Kings African Rifles (for which he was Mentioned in despatches) and also present at the Battle of Bukoba. He was awarded the Military Cross in 1917, which he received for his actions in conjunction with an intelligence section of the Belgian Force Publique during the Tabora Offensive. In 1918 he moved to the Arab Bureau, working as an intelligence officer from their headquarters in Cairo. In this role he also spent periods of time in Jerusalem and Damascus. With the war drawing to a close, he left the Bureau to serve on attachment to the British Embassy in Rome.

Between the Wars
Philipps travelled on foot along the Equator from East to West Africa. On the way he discovered by chance Lutra Paraonyx Philippsi, a clawless species of Otter that he decided to record for science and name after himself. In 1921 he was a Relief Commissioner with the Red Cross during the Famine in Russia, and afterwards took a brief detour into journalism when he reported on the Greco-Turkish War for The Times newspaper.

Following this experience he pursued a career in the Colonial Service in East Africa, where as a 'self-appointed scourge of the wicked' according to John Tosh, he made it a habit to expose abuses and push through reform. His last assignment was as District Commissioner of the Lango District in Uganda. A falling out with the Governor over how colonial administration was handled would eventually see him removed from duty: Philipps had argued that the policy of 'indirect rule' (devolution of responsibility to native chiefs) brought out rampant corruption among the chiefs in power at the expense of the ordinary native population. Towards the end of 1933 he had submitted several reports concerning the quality of native administration, each one of them highly critical, having chosen to bypass native courts during his inquiries and encouraged the local peasantry to submit their grievances to himself personally. He was replaced as District Commissioner in March 1934 and, under protest, forcibly retired from the Colonial Office the following year.

During his time in Africa he was fond of exploring the tropical forests and writing his observations on the wildlife he encountered. In 1930, he met Julian Huxley in the forests of Western Uganda whilst accompanying entomologists on a scientific mission. His experiences led him to become an early advocate of the creation of large national parks in Equatorial Africa, believing that human encroachment on Gorilla habitat engendered aggressive behaviour.

Later Life
In 1941 Philipps moved to Canada, where he was an adviser to the Canadian Government on immigrant European communities. In 1944 he joined the United Nations, working from New York, and later in Germany, as Chief of Planning Resettlement of Displaced Persons with the United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration.

Philipps never formally retired. In the aftermath of the Second World War he became involved with the Information Research Department, a secret branch of the Foreign Office charged with countering Soviet propaganda in Western Europe, and helped to recruit emigres from Eastern Europe. Alongside Ralph Murray, Reg Leeper and George Bell, the Bishop of Chichester, he was one of the men behind the publication of Communist Faith, Christian Faith - a book, edited by Donald Mackinnon, intended to nurture Anglican opposition to Communism.

He devoted his later years to conservation, and was keen to ensure that countries fast approaching self-government realised the importance of conserving their wildlife and natural resources. In 1955 he was elected Secretary-General of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources. He also became a Vice-President of the Hakluyt Society.

Personal
Philipps listed his recreations as 'Ethnology, travel, and natural history'. He married the Ukrainian pianist Lubka Kolessa and had one son. He was a member of the Travellers Club. In the aftermath of the Second World War he suggested settling dispossessed Jews in England.