Claude was educated at Falmouth College and St John's College, Cambridge - where he was a member of the Lady Margaret Boat Club; and at St Thomas's Hospital, graduating B.A. in 1907 and M.B., B.C. in 1912. After holding house appointments at St Thomas’s he went to Hereford in 1913 as House Surgeon at the County hospital and in 1914 joined Doctor J H Lilley of Hereford as his partner, settling in private practice. Claud obtained a commission the R.A.M.C., joining in January 1916 and was sent to India, but was invalided home with enteric fever. In March 1917 he was posted to France where he served at first with the ammunition column of the 42nd Division, and afterwards joined the Manchester's with whom he was serving when he was killed by a shell while attending a wounded man in the open. His Colonel wrote: "he was killed by a shell as he was in the act of tending a wounded man. We feel we have lost a great friend from our family whom it will be impossible to replace.... We were all so glad to see your husband back to us again ..... and at present can hardly understand he is gone. His bravery and devotion to duty in tending the wounded were beyond all praise" The Captain of the regiment who was with Captain Philp when he was killed says of him in a letter "he was busy all the Monday and he successfully got away all our wounded before we were ordered to retire ..... we were all very fond of him, to me he was a real companion; we lived and worked together in many delightful and strenuous times; I shall miss him much." Claude was the only child of Hastings Philp of Falmouth; and the husband of Margaret E Philp of 163 Banbury Road, Oxford - married in 1914.