The following is the nomination submitted to Badminton England - 

Phil James joined the BUAofE in 1987, progressing rapidly through the grades and achieving BWF Umpire status in 1993.
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As a BWF umpire, Phil has officiated at 3 Olympics (1996, 2000, 2008), 2 Thomas & Uber Cup Finals (2002, 2004), Sudirman Cup Finals (1997), 4 World Championships (1999, 2001, 2005, 2006), 1 World Junior Championships (1996) and 1 Commonwealth Games (1998).
Our database only records events from 1996 onwards. However, in this time, Phil has officiated at 292 events, 153 of these being regional events in the North of England, and 122 “National” 
selections. These include 16 All England (at which he has umpired 7 and service judged 5 finals). In total, since 1996 Phil has officiated 2387 matches at all levels (277 finals).
In addition to umpiring, Phil is passing on his knowledge and experience to umpires at all levels within the BUAofE, by acting as a mentor and appraiser at both regional and national events. This is 
invaluable to umpires to help them progress.In addition to his on court work, Phil has been a member of the National Committee of the BUAofE since 1994, first as Regional Secretary, then as an elected member of the Committee and then Assessor Group Secretary. In 2007, Phil took on the role of Chair of the BUAofE until 2017. He resumed this role in 200, when the Chair stood down for health reasons, and continued until 2022. After this he took on the role of Vice President, and in 2024 became President. The BUAofE is fortunate to have Phil’s extensive knowledge of the Laws of Badminton, but also the workings of the BUAofE, and we believe that his contribution to badminton in England would be well recognised by the English Badminton Award.

and the response from Badminton England - 

Our heartfelt congratulations go out to Phil for all his hard work and deidcation over the years !