Mr Roland Philipson was the main financial backer behind the original scheme to build the farm colony and sanatorium at Stannington. Not long after the idea was first proposed Philipson came forward with a very generous donation having heard of the scheme whilst staying at the Grand Hotel in Naples and sent a telegram stating his intention to donate £5,000, which was met with great enthusiasm. The plans proceeded without delay and 170 acres of land near to the village of Stannington were purchased.

Philipson laid the foundation stones for the venture on 16th September 1905 but tragically died just over a year later in a railway accident on 19th September 1906 at the age of 43 and did not see the official opening of either the farm colony or the sanatorium. The railway disaster occurred at Grantham and left 14 people dead and several more injured. The train involved was an overnight mail and passenger service from Kings' Cross to Edinburgh which had been scheduled to stop at Grantham but for reasons which were never resolved failed to take heed of the signals and powered straight on through Grantham Station. With the points set against the train it derailed a few hundred yards past the station and many of the carriages caught fire owing to the fact that they were illuminated by gas lights.

Mr Philipson was a mechanical engineer and had been a director of the North-Eastern Railway as well as a county magistrate. Being heavily involved with some of the Tyneside shipping firms it is believed he was travelling back up to Newcastle that night to see the launch of the Cunard ocean liner the RMS Mauretania due to leave the docks the next day on 20th September 1906. He was well respected in the local community and known for his generous charitable contributions, including his large gift to the PCHA. He left behind his wife, Louisa Warden Philipson, and four children.

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