Philip Zachariah was born on 23 September in Bengal, the son of Kuruvila Zachariah, who was an historian, and his wife Shanti née Dey. He attended Bishop Cotton School in Bangalore and then studied medicine at the Madras Christian College, graduating MB, BS in 1960. He worked for a time at the Christian Medical College in Vellore and then travelled to the UK. Initially he worked as a registrar at the West Norwich Hospital where he assisted Alan Birt and then became a senior registrar at the Kingston and Jersey Hospital working with Richard Franklin, both men who were to prove a strong influence on his work. He passed the fellowship of the college in 1964. In 1963 he married Sarah George, she was medically qualified and specialised in paediatrics. The family relocated to Saskatoon, Canada, in the early seventies where he was able to enjoy his hobbies of fishing and sailing. Eventually they settled in Hanover, Ontario where they spent 37 years and Philip worked as a surgeon at the Hanover and District Hospital. He died on 18 July 2019, survived by his children Kuruvila and George, grandchildren Zara and Sebastian, and daughter-in-law Susanna. His wife died on 13 February 2021.