George Phillips (1857-1924), a native of Manchester, came to Rutland 1891 at the age of 34 as Inspector of Weights and Measures. His interest in local history and archaeology led him to carry out extensive research and he probably recorded and published more detail on the history of Rutland than anyone else to date. During the course of his duties as Inspector of Weights and Measure, he visited every village in the county, and the idea struck him of ascertaining the details of the history and origin the various places he visited. A great deal of his spare time was spent at the British Museum. Here he researched every record he could find, from the Domesday Book onwards, which related to Rutland. In 1903 he inaugurated the Rutland Magazine and County Historical Record which was published for ten years as a quarterly periodical and printed locally by Charles Matkin. It remains a great source of information and inspiration for local historians. He was also responsible for many of the historical articles in Matkin’s Almanack. He also published the Cambridge County Geography of Rutland in 1912, but his greatest achievement was his Rutland and the Great War of 1920. This comprehensive work is a fitting memorial to his enthusiasm and regard for his adopted county. George Phillips was also member of the Rutland Archaeological and Natural History Society. He served on its committee and contributed papers to it on a range of subjects. As an antiquarian, he made interesting and valuable finds of Roman coins and vessels, and the collection, originally in the Oakham School Museum, it is now in Rutland County Museum. George Phillips was a keen member of the local church and he is credited with organizing, at Oakham, the first Parochial Church Council in the country. A plaque to his memory has been erected in Church Passage, Oakham, where he started a library.