James Erasmus Tracey Phillips

James Erasmus Tracy Philipps (20 November 1888 – 21 July 1959) was a British public servant. Philipps was, in various guises, a soldier, colonial administrator, traveller, journalist, propagandist, conservationist, and secret agent. He served as a British Army intelligence officer in the East African and Middle Eastern theatre of the First World War, which led to brief stints in journalism and relief work in the aftermath of the Greco-Turkish War. Joining the Colonial Office, his reform-minded agenda as a District Commissioner in Colonial Uganda alienated superiors and soon resulted in the termination of his position. He worked as a foreign correspondent for The Times in Eastern Europe, and spent much of the Second World War in Canada attempting to build support among ethnic minorities for British war objectives. Following a frustrating experience helping to resettle displaced persons as a United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration official, and Cold War propaganda activities with the secretive Information Research Department, Philipps' attention was increasingly taken up by his longstanding interest in conservation. In the final years of his life he led efforts to create African National Parks as Secretary-General of the International Union for Conservation of Nature. The product of an old, upper-class family, Philipps possessed determination and high self-esteem as well as a great deal of ambition – though his personal eccentricity sometimes undermined his goals. Early life