Philip was born in Southampton on March 31 1886. He was the illegitimate son of Jane Ann Maria "Janetta" Rentowl, an unmarried laundress. The identity of Philip's father is not known.

 The pair appear on the 1891 census and his mother eventually married Richard Philip Raymond and the couple had three children who survived infancy. By age 15 Philip had left school and was working as a labourer. 

He signed on to  Titanic under the name S. Sullivan. He had previosly served on the Orotova.

He died in the disaster and his body, if recovered, was never identified. His mother later received payments from the Titanic Relief Fund and she continued to live in Southampton until her death in 1916.