Philip John Appleby

 

 

Phil was born on the 24th February 1958 in Farnborough, Hampshire. He had served in the Army and the RAF and later joined the police force. He then worked for the Ministry of Defence and HM Revenue and Customs and finally he was still working for the National Crime Agency when he passed away. Phil joined the Order of the Fleur de Lys at the No2 Montgomery Company Muster in Durham on the 18th of August 2018 and became a valued member of the Company where he had just taken office as Deputy Marshal. He was promoted to Knight at Cambridge in October 2022 and he regularly travelled the country attending other musters and events. Phil was also an active Freemason. 

 

Phil, his partner, Catriona and step son and daughter in law, were on a pilgrimage to the Holy Land when Phil died suddenly and peacefully in his sleep on the early morning of the 28th June 2023. Phil had visited the Holy Land on a previous occasion when he was younger and was determined to return again for a pilgrimage. His faith was part of who he was and he will be presented posthumously with the Order’s Jerusalem Medal. 

 

Despite being born in Hampshire and living in various places, even Pakistan and Sri Lanka as a young boy, he still called Wylam his home until 2 years ago when Phil and Catriona moved to Dumfries. Despite his move he continued to stay an active member within No 2 Company and the Order. 

 

He will be sorely missed by his family and a great many others, not forgetting his ‘street cat’ that he inherited from the police station when it used to set off the alarms and ‘had to go’. 

 

RIP Phil