Born at Leicester 30 May 1876, elder child and only son of Samuel John Lilley, carriage builder, and Martha Lewis, his wife. His father was one of the first builders of motor-car bodies. He was educated at Wyggeston School, Leicester, and at Charing Cross Hospital where he won an entrance scholarship. He took the Conjoint qualification in 1899, and won honours in surgery at the London MB, BS examination in 1901. He served as house surgeon, house physician and resident medical officer at the Hospital, took the Fellowship in 1903, and settled in practice at Leicester in 1904. He was appointed the first medical officer in charge of the Leicester and Leicestershire Maternity Hospital in Causeway Lane, a post he held till its amalgamation with the Royal Infirmary, when he was appointed consulting surgeon. He was also anaesthetist to the Leicester School Clinic, first at Richmond House and latterly at Clarendon Park Road. During the war of 1914-1919 Lilley served at first as surgeon to the 5th Northern General Hospital, and then from September 1916 to February 1919 in Egypt, as skiagraphist at the Citadel Military Hospital, Cairo, and latterly as medical officer in charge of a prisoner of war camp in the desert. He also served as examiner in anatomy at the Royal Egyptian School of Medicine. After his return to Leicester Lilley took an increasing share in public duties. He became Leicester factories' surgeon and president of the Leicester public medical service, and was president of the Leicester Medical Society. He was president of the Leicester Literary and Philosophical Society in 1932, and continued to contribute papers to the philosophical section in later years. He served on the council of Leicester University College, and founded and fostered its music department and music library. He was also chairman of the Leicester Recruiting Board. He was a member of council of the British Medical Association and of the Medical Defence Union, and served on the Ministry of Health's advisory committees on medical therapeutic substances and the *National War Formulary*. He contributed an account of the *National Formulary* to Sir Humphry Rolleston's book *Favourite prescriptions* in "The Practitioner" series. Lilley married in 1913 Margaret Nora, younger daughter of Richard Wood, MD, MRCS, of Llanbedr, Merioneth, North Wales, who survived him, but without children. He died suddenly in his consulting rooms at the corner of Waterloo Street and New Walk, Leicester, on 22 November 1948, aged 72; he had just come in from his morning's work at the School Clinic. His home was at Delapre, Scraptoft, Leicester. Subject to a life interest, he left £2,000 to the Great Vestry Meeting of East Bond Street, Leicester, for the maintenance and improvement of the musical aspects of the Great Meeting services; £500 to the Incorporated Association of Organists Benevolent Fund; and after numerous other legacies and bequests his residue to University College, Leicester. Lilley's recreation was music. He was for forty years organist and choirmaster of the Unitarian Great Meeting Chapel, East Bond Street, Leicester, and was a founder and active member of the Leicester Chamber Music Club.