Mollie Doreen Phillips OBE (27 July 1907 – 15 December 1994) was a British

figure skater Figure skating is a sport in which individuals, pairs, or groups perform on figure skates on ice. It was the first winter sport to be included in the Olympic Games, when contested at the 1908 Olympics in London. The Olympic disciplines are me ...

and Olympic judge. She is regarded as a pioneer in the sport. Phillips was the first woman to carry a national flag at the opening ceremony of an Olympic Games when she led out Great Britain at the

1932 Winter Olympics The 1932 Winter Olympics, officially known as the III Olympic Winter Games and commonly known as Lake Placid 1932, were a winter multi-sport event in the United States, held in Lake Placid, New York, United States. The games opened on February ...

. In 1961 she became High Sheriff of

Carmarthenshire Carmarthenshire ( cy, Sir Gaerfyrddin; or informally ') is a county in the south-west of Wales. The three largest towns are Llanelli, Carmarthen and Ammanford. Carmarthen is the county town and administrative centre. The county is known as ...

, the first woman to hold the title.

Biography

Mollie Doreen Phillips was born in London on 27 July 1907. Her father was George Phillips. She studied law at

Lincoln's Inn The Honourable Society of Lincoln's Inn is one of the four Inns of Court in London to which barristers of England and Wales belong and where they are called to the Bar. (The other three are Middle Temple, Inner Temple and Gray's Inn.) Lincoln ...

but focussed much of her time on figure skating. In 1949 she became the Cardiganshire County Commissioner for the

Girl Guides Association Girlguiding is the operating name of The Guide Association, previously named The Girl Guides Association and is the national guiding organisation of the United Kingdom. It is the UK's largest girl-only youth organisation. Girlguiding is a char ...

. She held a variety of other public appointments, including

Justice of the Peace A justice of the peace (JP) is a judicial officer of a lower or ''puisne'' court, elected or appointed by means of a commission ( letters patent) to keep the peace. In past centuries the term commissioner of the peace was often used with the sa ...

, a member of the local police authority, and a General Commissioner of Income Tax. In 1949 Phillips became the manager of a dairy farm and found a new career as a breeder of dairy cattle. Phillips died in

Lambeth Lambeth () is a district in South London, England, in the London Borough of Lambeth, historically in the County of Surrey. It is situated south of Charing Cross. The population of the London Borough of Lambeth was 303,086 in 2011. The area expe ...

, Greater London on 15 December 1994 at the age of 87.

Skating career

Phillips was trained by Howard Nicholson and paired up with Rodney Murdoch to compete. In 1933 they skated as a partnership, winning the British championship and then bronze at the

European Figure Skating Championships The European Figure Skating Championships is an annual figure skating competition in which figure skaters compete for the title of European champion. Medals are awarded in the disciplines of men's singles, women's singles, pair skating, an ...

. After Murdoch retired she focussed on the singles events, achieving some success in British and European competitions. Phillips competed at the

Lake Placid, New York Lake Placid is a village in the Adirondack Mountains in Essex County, New York, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 2,303. The village of Lake Placid is near the center of the town of North Elba, southwest of Plattsburgh. ...

and the 1936 Games at

Garmisch-Partenkirchen Garmisch-Partenkirchen (; Bavarian: ''Garmasch-Partakurch''), nicknamed Ga-Pa, is an Alpine ski town in Bavaria, southern Germany. It is the seat of government of the district of Garmisch-Partenkirchen (abbreviated ''GAP''), in the O ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

. She competed in the women's singles event of the figure skating, finishing 9th and 11th respectively. Phillips was the first woman to carry the flag and lead out her national team at any Olympic Games. The 1932 British Winter Olympic team comprised only four athletes, all in figure skating and all female. Phillips was by far the senior member of the team at the age of 24 compared to

Joan Dix Joan Dix (later ''Jones'', 3 August 1918 – 1991) was an English figure skater who competed in ladies singles. In 1932 she finished tenth at the Winter Olympics and world championships, and seventh at the European championships. Her father Fred ...

, the second oldest, at just 13 years of age. The other two competitors,

Cecilia Colledge Magdalena Cecilia Colledge (28 November 1920 – 12 April 2008) was a British figure skater. She was the 1936 Olympic silver medalist, the 1937 World Champion, the 1937–1939 European Champion, and a six-time (1935–1939, 1946) British n ...

and Megan Taylor, were both 11. In 1939 her election to the Council of the

National Ice Skating Association British Ice Skating (formerly the National Ice Skating Association) is the national governing body of ice skating within the United Kingdom. Formed in 1879, it is responsible for overseeing all disciplines of ice skating: figure skating (singles ...

, becoming the first woman to have such a role, caused some controversy amongst some of the men in charge of the sport. She went on to become a high-profile figure skating judge and, at the 1948 World Figure Skating Championships, the first woman to referee a world championship.

Results

with Rodney Murdoch

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Phillips, Mollie 1907 births 1994 deaths British female single skaters British female pair skaters Olympic figure skaters of Great Britain Figure skaters at the 1932 Winter Olympics Figure skaters at the 1936 Winter Olympics Sportspeople from London High Sheriffs of Carmarthenshire English farmers European Figure Skating Championships medalists Officers of the Order of the British Empire