Charles Harold Lilley (3 July 1892 – 16 June 1982) was an

Australian rules football Australian football, also called Australian rules football or Aussie rules, or more simply football or footy, is a contact sport played between two teams of 18 players on an oval field, often a modified cricket ground. Points are scored by k ...

er who played with

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

in the

Victorian Football League The Victorian Football League (VFL) is an Australian rules football league in Australia serving as one of the second-tier regional semi-professional competitions which sit underneath the fully professional Australian Football League (AFL). It ...

(VFL).

Family

The son of Charles William Henry Lilley (1893-1918), and Mary Louisa Lilley (1866-1956), née Wright, Charles Harold Lilley was born at

Armadale, Victoria Armadale is an inner suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 7 km south-east of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the City of Stonnington local government area. Armadale recorded a population of 9,368 at the 2021 cens ...

on 3 July 1892.

Football

In May 1919, an unidentified former Melbourne footballer, wrote to the football correspondent of ''The Argus'' as follows: ::"In 1914 the Melbourne football team, after its junction with the University, was a fine team, and succeeded in reaching the semi-finals.
Out of this combination the following players enlisted and served at the front:—
C. Lilley (seriously wounded), J. Hassett, H. Tomkins (severely wounded), J. Evans (seriously wounded), W. Hendrie, R. L. Park, J. Doubleday (died), A. Best, C. Burge (killed), C. (viz., A.) Williamson (killed), J. Brake, R. Lowell, E. Parsons (seriously wounded), A. M. Pearce (killed), F. Lugton (killed), A. George, C. Armstrong, P. Rodriguez (killed), J. Cannole (viz., Connole), A. Fraser (seriously wounded), T. Collins.
These are all players of note, and in themselves would have formed a very fine side, but there is only one of them playing at the present time, viz., C. Lilley, who, as a matter of fact, takes the field under some disability owing to severe wounds which he received on service." — ''The Argus'', 16 May 1919.

Military service

He served in the First AIF during World War One. He played for the (winning) Third Australian Divisional team in the famous "Pioneer Exhibition Game" of Australian Rules football, held in London, in October 1916. A news film was taken at the match.The 2019 remastered and colourised version of the original newsreel:

Notes

References

''Pioneer Exhibition Game Australian Football: in aid of British and French Red Cross Societies: 3rd Australian Division v. Australian Training Units at Queen's Club, West Kensington, on Saturday, October 28th, 1916, at 3pm'', Wightman & Co., (London), 1919.
* Richardson, N. (2016), ''The Game of Their Lives'', Pan Macmillan Australia: Sydney. * Photograph a
An All-Round Sport, ''The Winner'', (Wednesday, 29 November 1916), p.8.

First World War Embarkation Roll: Gunner Charles Harold Lilley (19632), collection of the ''Australian War Memorial''.

First World War Nominal Roll: Bombardier Charles Harold Lilley (19632), collection of the ''Australian War Memorial''.

Bombardier Charles Harold Lilley (19632), ''National Archives of Australia''.
* Holmesby, Russell & Main, Jim (2014), ''The Encyclopedia of AFL Footballers: every AFL/VFL player since 1897 (10th ed.)'', Seaford, Victoria: BAS Publishing.

External links