Philip Scott Woodruff was born in London on 20th January 1913, the second son of Harold and Margaret Woodruff, who migrated with their family to Australia while Philip was still an infant. Sadly, Margaret died in 1915 in England, where she had returned with the boys while Harold was serving with the AIF in Egypt. Harold brought the boys back to Australia in 1917 and married Isabella Glaister, who became a devoted and much-loved mother to the two boys.
Professor Harold Woodruff was a committed Christian and expressed his faith in the work and worship of the Methodist church. Philip too was to grow up with a strong Christian faith.
His father also encouraged in Philip an early love for words and for books, which he read for enjoyment and for discovery, his favourites being mystery stories and history. He loved reading aloud both at home and at school.
Philip, who was a gifted student with a brilliant mind, was educated at Wesley College Melbourne. He went on to Melbourne University and was awarded an M.B.B.S in 1936. He was a member of the Resident Staff of Royal Melbourne Hospital in 1937-1938 and was awarded his M.D. at Melbourne University in 1939.
Philip married Lyndsay Madeline Wise on 30 March 1939, at Queen’s College Chapel, Melbourne.
Planning to follow the typical pathway for a young Australian doctor aspiring to be a surgeon, to enrol in a course for the primary FRCS at one of the London teaching hospitals, and at the same time get a job in one of the LCC hospitals to gain clinical experience and income for the period of study, Philip had booked tickets for himself and Lyndsay on a ship to sail from Melbourne on 2 September 1939. Noting that the situation in Europe was worsening quickly and that his plans were likely to be frustrated, Philip cancelled the tickets. Two days later, Britain declared war on Germany.
Soon thereafter, Philip took up a position as Medical Superintendent at the Mackay Hospital on a salary of 800 pounds a year, together with a house in the hospital, free fuel and light. He benefited greatly from the experience gained in the two and a half years he spent in that position, performing a wide range of general surgery including procedures which today would be regarded as the province of various specialist surgeons. Every aspect of medicine was his direct concern. It was a formative period in his medical education.
On 1 December 1941, Lyndsay gave birth to their first child Peter, six days before the bombing of Pearl Harbour. As the war in the Pacific drew closer, Philip felt it his duty to enrol in the army. In September 1942, he joined the 19th Field Ambulance but was reassigned to 5 Division Engineers as Registered Medical Officer for the Division. On 9 September 1943, the Division set sail from Townsville for Milne Bay. He served for two and a half years in New Guinea and New Britain.
It was during his period of service in the Army that Philip’s interest in public health issues and preventative medicine developed. At Milne Bay, he became involved in the safety of the water supply provided by the Sappers for units throughout the area. Malaria, scrub typhus, and dysentery in particular were common.
To a certain extent, the circumstances in which he found himself by the end of the war cast Philip into the role of physician. And he was well suited to the work. He already had an interest in communicable diseases and had gained considerable benefit from a Diploma in Tropical Medicine and Hygiene obtained from the School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine at the University of Sydney during the War, a course of study done at the Army’s request.
During the 1940s, Philip and Lyndsay’s family grew with the birth of Susan in July 1943, Robyn in October 1946, and John in January 1948.
After the war, he acquired a time-share in established consulting rooms in Melbourne and was appointed an Honorary Physician to outpatients at Prince Henry’s Hospital in Melbourne. There, Sydney Rubbs had succeeded Philip’s father Harold as Professor of Microbiology. Rubbs was keen to support doctors whose plans had been set aside because of the War and encouraged Philip’s successful application for a University research grant to work in his department. Philip joined a team conducting microbiology research at the hospital, where he was put in charge of testing serums against the tubercle bacillus.
He became a Member of the Royal Australian College of Physicians in 1948 with first class honours in surgery, obstetrics and gynaecology, and second class honours in medicine, and later, in 1963, became a Fellow of the Royal Australian College of Physicians.
In 1948, Philip was asked to be part of the National Campaign Against Tuberculosis. He was awarded a Rockefeller Scholarship and, although it involved an extended period away from the family, Philip and Lyndsay decided he should undertake a 13-month extended study tour of the United States and Britain.
On his return to Australia in March 1950, he was appointed Director of Tuberculosis for South Australia, and the family moved to Adelaide. He made a significant contribution to the elimination of tuberculosis in South Australia, particularly in remote and indigenous communities.
In 1959, Philip was appointed Lecturer in Public Health and Preventative Medicine and Director General of Public Health in South Australia, a position which he held until his retirement.
His interest in public health was life-long, and in retirement, he wrote the book “Two Million South Australians,” which documented the major causes of death in the South Australian community from the time of its settlement.
He was a member of the Resources Council of South Australia, and the Stirling Hospital Board for many years, including seven years as Chairman. He was a member of the Australian National Health and Medical Research Council, the South Australian Water Resources Council, the Environmental Protection Council, and the South Australian Committee on Environment. He was Chairman of the James Brown Trust, the Lincoln College Council, a member of the Helping Hand Administration, the Rotary Club of Adelaide, the Stirling Bowling Club, and the South Australian Public Health Service.
Philip was a wonderful husband and father. It is testament to the quality of their upbringing that Peter, Sue, and John are all members of the Order of Australia.
Philip was a deeply spiritual man whose commitment to the well-being of his fellow citizens led him to a life dedicated to public health.