Eliza Phillips

Eliza Phillips (née Barron; 1823 – 18 August 1916) was an English animal welfare activist and first Vice President of the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds.

Biography

Early life and marriage Eliza Barron was born in Wandsworth, Surrey and baptised at the church of St Mary-at-Lambeth on 11 July 1823, the only child of George Barron (–1852), a gentleman, and Elizabeth Joanna Barron (née Barron; 1792–1824). Her parents may have been distant cousins. She was probably raised by her maternal grandparents, but little is known of her early life, though she did meet Samuel Taylor Coleridge while living in Highgate in her youth. She was widowed in 1868 and her interest in animal welfare began, inspired by witnessing the sufferings of cattle on a sea voyage. in Didsbury, Manchester, and by 1891 had moved to London with Eliza as Vice President. She also became head of publications.

Eliza had been a near neighbour of founding Treasurer Catherine Victoria Hall 25 years earlier in Sutton, Surrey.

There is no evidence of a founding sister organisation called the Fin, Fur and Feather Folk, despite the reference made by Etta Lemon in her RSPB history. “Mrs Edward Phillips' Fin, Fur and Feather afternoons at 11 Morland Road, Croydon, at which she and her close friend, Miss C V Hall of Lancaster Lodge, London, made welcome their numerous friends interested in the protection of wild creatures; in furtherance of this, Mrs Phillips gave unstintingly of her literary ability, and great experience of the world, and Miss Hall of her money and sweet patience, the ultimate outcome being the formation of a Society designed for the protection of Wild Birds throughout the world." Etta was likely referring to a series of publications not directly linked to the RSPB called Fin, Fur, and Feather leaflets first published by Eliza in 1893. Further, Eliza did not move to Croydon until after 1891.

In 1890, the society published its first leaflet, entitled Destruction of Ornamental-Plumaged Birds, aimed at saving the egret population by informing wealthy women of the environmental damage wrought by the use of feathers in fashion. A later 1897 publication, Bird Food in Winter, aimed to address the use of berries as winter decoration and encouraged the use of synthetic berries to preserve the birds food source. By 1898 the RSPB had 20,000 members and in 1897 alone had distributed over 16,000 letters and 50,000 leaflets.

Phillips made an important contribution to the animal and bird welfare groups of the later 19th century. She left a sizable estate of more than £100,000 (£ as of ), half of which was designated "for the protection of and relief of suffering of beasts and birds" in her will (and half to over 70 named family and friends).

In 2012, the RSPB had over a million members, including over 195,000 youth members, as well as 18,000 volunteers assisting on 200 nature reserves covering almost 130,000 hectares, home to 80% of the UK's rarest or most threatened bird species.

There is no known picture of Phillips and no known residence remains. next door at 24 Morland Road, was demolished and replaced in 1967 by four tower blocks, only one of which remains on Gordon Crescent.

Phillips also made provision in her will to build a clock tower for St Martin's Church opposite Vaughan House on the corner of Stretton Road. It was completed in 1922 and demolished with the church in 1995.

She was buried in the same grave as her father in Brompton Cemetery on 23 August 1916 - grave M/168/67 - however she is not included in the Royal Parks list of famous graves in Brompton Cemetery.