Pembroke Dock-born writer Lawrie Phillips has received a major maritime history award on board Nelson's flagship, HMS Victory, in Portsmouth Dockyard. He received the centenary medal of the Society for Nautical Research on Saturday from former Controller of the Navy, Admiral Sir Kenneth Eaton, Chairman of the Society, for long and distinguished service to the Society which he joined over 50 years ago and of which he is one of its vice-presidents. The Royal Patron of the Society is HRH The Duke of Edinburgh and HRH The Duke of York is its President. Commander Phillips is author of the Navy's standard naval history reference work, The Royal Navy Day by Day, which is dedicated by permission to Her Majesty The Queen, and which is issued officially to every ship and establishment in the Fleet. His most recent book was the bicentennial history of Pembroke Dockyard, Pembroke Dockyard and the Old Navy, which was launched in the old Dockyard Chapel last March by former First Sea Lord, Admiral Lord West. Lawrie Phillips was born and raised in Pennar and he is an old boy of Pennar Primary School and of Pembroke Grammar School. He spent 35 years with the Ministry of Defence at home and abroad. He was Head of Fleet Media Operations and earlier was Press Officer to the Secretary of State for Defence. Towards the end of his career he was Assistant Chief of Public Relations and Head of Publicity at the Ministry of Defence. His brother Bryan, who lives in Pembroke, is a former Mayor of Pembroke and a former Chairman of Pembrokeshire County Council.