Tributes to Army vet Philip – the ‘backbone of the community’
AN Army veteran suffering from PTSD who chased gun-toting drug dealers off a notorious estate in Bridgend has died.
Despite the mental scars left by tours of Northern Ireland and the first Gulf War, the frontline paramedic confronted the thugs sent in to counter his clean-up campaign.
Family man Philip Loveday – who also suffered a broken vertebrae while playing rugby – even refused to back down when they threatened to set fire to his house.
Now people living in Wildmill, who are reaping the benefits of his bravery 20 years ago, are preparing to say goodbye after his death from pancreatic cancer at the age of 63.
Daughter Angharad Hillman, 33, said drugs and violence on their street, Glanffornwg, and across the estate stirred him into action in the mid1990s.
“I remember getting harassing phone calls saying they were going to burn our house down. I was still in junior school,” she said. “My dad was battling with post-traumatic stress and he went toe to toe with a couple of the heavies.
“There was guns there and my dad said: ‘Come here and have a go. I’ll show you how to use it properly’. He just got sick of seeing Wildmill turning into the mess that it was.”
Phil – a battlefield class one paramedic and bandsman who served in the Army for 20 years and for 10 years in the reserves – and wife Sally Ann helped to found the Wildmill Area Tenants and Residents’ Association (WATRA).
Member Pete Foley said people had been “afraid to open their doors”.
But WATRA forged close links with the police, making the estate a far less comfortable place for criminals who were either arrested or moved out.
“Phil was the backbone of the community. He was not afraid to tackle prob- lems head on and he used his military experience in a positive way,” said Pete. “He helped the community regain its self-confidence and he never forgot that bullies are cowards.”
Blaengwynfi-born Phil, who discovered in 2011 that he’d been living with a fractured vertebrae in his neck his entire adult life, later became chairman of WATRA.
Despite poor health, the ex-lance corporal, who served with the Royal Regiment of Wales and Royal Highland Fusiliers, continued his fight to ensure Wildmill was a safe community and in 2005 he slammed the “bad apples” who continued to give the area a bad name after a PCSO was shot at with an air rifle.
At the time he said: “We just want the rest of Bridgend to see we’re not trash, we are human beings. Most of us are working hard so it hurts when people belittle us.”
The following year he received a Government Respect for Taking a Stand award and revealed crime on the estate had been slashed by up to 70% since WATRA’s formation.
The keen bandsman – he played trombone and euphonium among other instruments – also helped to start the Wales Veterans’ Band and, for the last few years, joined fellow veteran Tom Weaver to stage an annual random act of kindness in Bridgend.
Last autumn, shortly before Phil was hospitalised, they joined forces with Subway and Go Air to give out thousands of pounds worth of free meals and tickets to thank those whose everyday kindnesses made their lives easier.
Angharad said, despite being in a mobility scooter, her father would also visit a lonely grave in a tiny memorial plot, opposite Glanrhyd Hospital, to play The Last Post every Remembrance Day. He would then go to the Cenotaph, Bridgend, to honour fellow comrades.
Phil leaves Sally Ann, who works in Asda, Bridgend, and their children Angharad, Elizabeth Grace and Aled. He was also dad to Aaron, who passed away and he was father to Cathy and Gavin from previous relationships.
Phil’s funeral takes place on Friday, July 28, at 2.45pm at Coychurch Crematorium.
Angharad is raising money for Pancreatic Cancer UK by doing a 5km walk every two months carrying the weight she has lost on her back in an Army bergen. Her fundraising page is at uk.virginmoneygiving. com/Harrilbs2pounds