Hi Cockneyrebel,
Is this your George in 1891?
1891RG12/773 126 79
Eastbourne, Sussex
79 Cavendish PlAlfred John Phillips, head, 27, Printer's Manager, b. Sussex St Leonard's on Sea
Adelaide F, wife, 27, Confectioner, b. Eastbourne
Adela Ger
e L, dau, 5, scholar, b. do.
Cyril Alfd, son, 2, b. do.
George Walter Tyrrell, stepfather in law, mar, 61, Carpenter, b. Brighton George Walter Tyrrell, stepbrother in law, 20, Violonist, b. Eastbourne

Seems he was indeed married before:
1881
http://search.ancestry.co.uk/cgi-bin/sse.dll?db=uki1881&indiv=try&h=21805259RG11/1039 4 2
The same man is still with his son (and family) in 1901, noted as married but Mercy isn't there