Major-General Philip James Shears CB was the only son of James Charles Shears, a mechanical engineer from Kingston upon Thames, Surrey, and Beatrice Jane Margaret Dumas, and was born on 6 April 1887 in Surbiton, Surrey. He was also a great-grandson of coppersmith Daniel Towers Shears, a partner of James Shears and Sons.
He went on to serve as Colonel of The Border Regiment (now part of The King's Own Royal Border Regiment) from 1947 to 1952.
In 1948 Philip Shears published The Story of the Border Regiment, 1939-1945.
He died on 7 April 1972.