Virtual
War Memorial
Australia

PHILIP ANTHONY NOTT, b. 1922, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia; d. 2012, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia; m. Flora Jean McNeil 1948, b. 1922, Brisbane, Queensland, d. 2011, Sydney, New South Wales; issue, four sons – Philip Rowling Nott, b. 1949, Brisbane, Queensland; Peter Michael Nott, b. 1951, Brisbane, Queensland; Geoffrey Michael Nott, b. 1953, Melbourne, Victoria, d. 2016 Canberra, Australia Capital Territory; and Jeremy Andrew Nott, b. 1961, Canberra, Australian Capital Territory. These sons have 11 children between them and those children currently (2022) have four children.

Philip was born in South Brisbane. He was raised in Brisbane except for a period when he boarded with an aunt in Bundanoon because of the financial difficulties (which included bankruptcy in 1930) of his father (Philip Rowling Nott) as a result of the insolvency of Gunnerson Crockett. Consequently, he attended a number of Primary Schools between 1927 and 1934.

He returned home when the family situation improved, Phil followed his father to Brisbane Grammar School from 1935 to 1938. He considered himself an adequate student, especially in comparison with his father who had won two silver and one gold Lilley Medals and was Dux of Brisbane Grammar in 1905. However, he was very talented at English and languages (he studied Latin and German) and was awarded a Trustees Extension Scholarship in 1937. He matriculated to the University of Queensland in 1938. He joined the Australian Public Service in Brisbane as a Base Grade Clerk in the Post Office and commenced evening studies at the University of Queensland. He transferred to the Commonwealth Audit Office in 1940.
His work and studies were interrupted by the Second World War. He joined the RAAF in December 1941 and was promoted to Pilot Officer in January 1943, Flying Officer in July 1943 and Flight Lieutenant in November 1945. After initial training he was posted to Narrandera and Bundaberg for flight training before becoming a flying instructor at Bundaberg and Orange from February 1943. He flew a range of aircraft during this time which included the DH 82, Avro Trainer, Ryan, Anson, the Bristol Beaufort Bomber, and the Bristol Beaufighter.

He joined 31 Squadron in 1945, flying Beaufighters and saw active service in the PNG theatre. This included a period based in Morotai in Indonesia and Tawi Tawi Island in the Philippines towards the end of the war. He flew ground attack sorties against the Japanese in support of the capture of Labuan, Balikpapan, Tarakan, and then over Borneo.

He continued his flying at the Royal Queensland Aero Club for a short time after he was demobbed in November 1945. However, he was denied a Private Pilot’s License because of his Red/Green colour blindness – this was not deemed a sufficient disability for wartime activity but was unacceptable in the peace. His last flight in May 1946 was with Flora McNeil whom he married two years later.

Phil re-joined the Audit Office on his return to Brisbane. He continued his studies and graduated Bachelor of Commerce (in 1948) and Bachelor of Arts (in 1951). In 1950 he was promoted to Project Officer and later Assistant Economist at the Department of National Development in Melbourne. In 1951 he was again promoted to Inspector (Organization and Methods) at the Public Service Board in Canberra. He remained in this position until 1963 except for a 12 month period of exchange duty in 1955 with the British Treasury in London.

The remainder of his working life was based in Canberra with promotions to First Assistant Director-General of the Department of Social Services in 1963 where he managed the delivery of all Commonwealth welfare programs; Controller of the Australian Government Publishing Service; and First Assistant Secretary (Information), Department of Administrative Services. The last two roles included responsibility for publishing, printing, purchasing, stores, and various other support services for the whole Australian Public Service and included the daily printing of Hansard. He retired in 1982.

Phil joined the Australian Society of Accountants and the Australasian Institute of Cost Accountants early in his career and remained a member of these and their descendant organizations for more than 60 years. He became a Fellow of the Australian Society of Accountants and a Fellow of the Australian Society of Certified Practicing Accountants in 1967. He was a life member of the organization and a Fellow of CPA Australia when he died.

During his years as a senior public servant, he also undertook a number of particularly interesting tasks that are worth mentioning. In 1965-66, he was a member of the committee that wrote the first edition of the Style Manual: for Authors, Editors and Printers – this book has been continuously available since and in now in its sixth edition. In 1967, he was sent to Darwin to welcome visiting Heads of State and Heads of Government who came to Australia to attend Harold Holt’s funeral. In 1973-75, he chaired the committee that planned and oversaw the creation of the Public Service in Papua New Guinea that had to be in place for its independence in 1975.

Phil’s hobbies focused on his home and family. He was a keen gardener and handyman. He developed gardens in two houses in Canberra; at the family beach house at Denhams Beach on the NSW South Coast; on a 30-acre property at the Ridgeway outside Canberra; and in retirement on another acreage property at Mudgeeraba in the Gold Coast Hinterland and his final one on Silvabank Lake at Varsity Lakes on the Gold Coast. He enjoyed golf and was a member of the Royal Canberra Golf Club while he lived in Canberra. In retirement he volunteered as Treasurer for the Southport Branch of the Red Cross. He also thoroughly enjoyed music all his life, especially classical music and jazz, and taught himself how to play an electric piano after he reached 70.

His ashes were buried with Flora’s in the Woden Cemetery in Canberra in 2015.