That has got the phone back into working condition, however the ring volume is still almost inaudible, so I am basically convinced that this is a hardware problem, i.e. Poly Speaker is stuffed or it's driver chip is stuffed.
There is a possibility that there is a Sony Settings Reset file or some such that might deal with this well known problem, but i have been unable to find it, so time to quit the phone or have it repaired.
Thanks for all the help & suggestions. It has been a great learning experience.
Cheers.