Tributes to late Paralympian who leaves behind a 'great legacy' in disability sport

A former Paralympian with a ‘great legacy’ of transforming disability sport both nationally and in the Royal Borough has died at the age of 87.

Philip Lewis MBE was the youngest of four children born in Orpington, Kent, in 1938, and had a lifelong passion for sport, inspired by his father.

Family members speaking at Philip’s funeral at Waltham St Lawrence Church on Saturday, October 11, said the village resident of nearly five decades had ‘nine lives’.

His first ‘brush with death’ came when he developed meningitis as a child, and another while driving home from a cricket match, where two lorries forced him to head for a verge.

But Philip’s life changed forever in December 1962 when he suffered a broken neck during a car crash in Oxford, aged 23, which resulted in a C8/T1 complete spinal injury.

He was transferred to Stoke Mandeville from John Radcliffe Hospital, and doctors believed he might live for up to ten years or spend a lifetime in a nursing home.

At the National Spinal Injuries Centre, he came under the care of Sir Ludwig ‘Poppa’ Guttmann and received physiotherapy and rehabilitation for almost a year.

During this time, Dr Guttmann and physiotherapist Bill Preston saw increasing movement in Philip’s thumb and believed table tennis could facilitate his recovery.

Philip said he owed his life to the pioneering doctor and founded The Poppa Guttmann Trust, unveiling a commemorative statue at Stoke Mandeville Stadium for the London 2012 Paralympic Games.

Initially, Philip was the only wheelchair player in an able-bodied league and represented Great Britain at the 1964 Paralympic Games in Tokyo, competing in table tennis events.

He also won a gold medal in doubles and bronze in singles at the 1966 Commonwealth Games in Jamaica, a silver medal at the 1972 Paralympic Games in Germany, and gold in doubles and silver in singles at the 1974 Commonwealth Games in New Zealand.

Philip trained as a solicitor and was a ‘tenacious campaigner’ and ‘ahead of his time’ in getting fair opportunities for wheelchair users.

He was elected chairman of the British Sports Association for the Disabled, where he started a network of disability sports clubs across the south of England in the early 1970s.

In 1975, he founded the Windsor and Maidenhead Sports Association for the Disabled (WAMSAD), which provided a pathway into the Paralympics for many athletes.

Known as SportsAble from 2011 until it closed in 2021, the former president and his friend, John Jenkins MBE, said the organisation was ‘like a gateway to the outside sporting world’.

Philip’s mantra was that ‘the disabled must have a say’ and ‘must be in control of their destiny’, said John, who represented Great Britain at table tennis at the 1984 Paralympics in New York.

The pair were instrumental in bringing together disability table tennis groups under the British Table Tennis Association for the Disabled (BTTAD), now called British Para Table Tennis, in 1993.

“He was an extraordinary chap,” John told the Advertiser. “He was really a force for good.

“He had a remarkable impact across the sport and the lives of disabled people.

“You can’t overstate the importance and the significance of what he’s done.

“And he only achieved that through a tigerish, forthright passion and would invariably do what he set out to do. He was a very determined gentleman.”

Philip’s service to disability sport was recognised in 1981 when he was awarded an MBE.

He fought for wheelchair inclusion in the Reading half-marathon in 1983 and achieved similar results at the London Marathon, ensuring wheelchairs had a place at the start.

At the 2012 London Paralympics, Philip’s advocacy and lifetime devotion to disability sport led to him being the last carrier of the Olympic torch before it entered the stadium.

He helped improve wheelchair spectator access at Wimbledon and Twickenham, and his family said his campaigning style was never taking no for an answer.

Philip died peacefully at home on September 1, and donations are accepted for spinal-research.org.