Raymond Phillips
Raymond Phillips was a childhood friend of Alistair Gordon Lethbridge-Stewart.
He was born to Harold and Eileen Phillips in November 1925. He grew up in Bledoe, and was the best friend of Gordon James Lethbridge-Stewart. They attended school together with Henry Barns and the three of them formed the Bledoe Cadets in the summer of 1936. The gang soon grew to include Edwin Stone, Terry, Nobby and Jason Starling. They used a barn at Puckator Farm as their gang hut.
He had a sister, Emily, who was born in 1933.
In 1937, Alistair, his brother, and Raymond decided to sneak into the local abandoned house, called the Manor. There, they were approached by a haunting figure in dated clothing, who rested his hand on James' head before his body fell apart. Running away, James told the other boys (including Henry Barns, who was watching from afar) not to talk about it, an order which all of the boys but Raymond completely ignored. Afterwards, Alistair would become a member of 'the Cadets", a bittersweet fact as James would become isolated, appearing to talk to an imaginary friend he called "Maha": a manifestation of the Great Intelligence, hoping to reform itself.
Months later, in January 1938, the Cadets gathered at the disused barn at the Puckator Farm to exchange presents which they had received for the holidays. Alistair was allowed to come by Raymond, due to Ray missing James as a friend. Outside the barn, James began explaining sign language to his brother, and furthermore how the cows near the barn appeared to be confused and trying to talk to a voice that wasn't talking to them. Ray asked James to explain what had been happening to him since they met the Hollow Man in the woods, but James said that he could explain it to neither Ray nor his brother before wandering off.
James and "Maha" soon grew to be a burden to the family, and his mother had to be called in often to talk to the headmaster about him. Because of this, Alistair soon grew somewhat jealous of the attention that his brother was receiving from his mother. On 20 February, his birthday party was held (his actual birth date was two days later, but it was a school night and thus judged to be a poor time for a party), an event he looked forward to as it would finally be a day where his family would pay attention to him and not his brother. Despite this, a scene was created at the party where Alistair and his brother began arguing. Alistair said that Maha had destroyed their relationship and that James' "friend" had made him someone other than the brother that he cared about. As their mother took James away, Alistair was left in tears; his birthday ruined.
A week before James' birthday in the same year, his mother announced to the boys that their father would be returning home for the day to be with them. James did not want to see his father and ran into the woods. Alistair and Ray went to look for him and found him standing at the clearing over Golitha Falls. Crying, James said that Maha had come for Alistair and had meant to hurt him. He said that he should never have listened to the voice, and apologised for how he had been acting. The Great Intelligence then forced James to jump to his death, in an act of spite against Alistair for thwarting it in his later years.
Alistair tried to retrieve his brother's body but was too short to do so. The three were eventually found by a group of adults who had heard Ray's screams, which Ray did not remember making. As a coping mechanism, Raymond begins to write stories. (The Forgotten Son)
By in 1943 Raymond has become Alistair’s best friend, and wonders if he should join the war effort. This bothers Alistair. (The War Romance) He signs up, and by time he returns at the end of the war, he find his home has been destroyed by a Spitfire and his family has moved in with the Lethbridge-Stewarts. (In His Kiss, The Forgotten Son)
In September 1945, Mary Lethbridge-Stewart passes her house on to the Phillips', and Mary and Alistair leave Bledoe. Despite their promise, Raymond only receives two letters from Alistair. He doesn’t hear from Alistair for another twenty-four years.
In 1953. Raymond sells his first story, The Hollow Man of Carrington Lodge. So begins a moderately successful career as an author. He sells his last story in 1965 and settles down doing odd-jobs around Bledoe to keep his small fortune topped up. Over the years he'd become something a recluse, seen as the crazy old man of Bledoe. However this all changes when Alistair returns to Bledoe in March 1969. (PROSE: The Forgotten Son)
