Philip Keeble was born in 1947 in Beaconsfield, England. Educated first in Slough and later Fareham where he started work as an industrial chemist before leaving to joining the Hampshire and Isle of Wight Constabulary. In 1965 he was accepted for pilot training with the RAF and had a 28-year career in the service, flying mainly reconnaissance and fast combat aircraft in a wide range of overseas theatres. On leaving the forces he became a civilian military simulator instructor both in the UK and in Saudi Arabia. He was Ordained as a Deacon in the Church in Wales in 2013 (retired).