ABRO/100
Captain Hugh Lilley of the Burma Rifles died on 1st February 1942 in Burma, aged 26. He had been mentioned in despatches. He is commemorated on the Rangoon Memorial in Myanmar.
Hugh was born in Leamington on 2nd March 1915 and baptised at All Saints Church. His parents, Alfred Edward Victor Lilley and Blanche Ellen (née Heywood) were living in Beauchamp Avenue. Alfred Lilley was an artist who exhibited at the Royal Academy and had moved to Leamington as Art Master at Leamington Technical College. He later taught in Dudley, and then in Sheffield where the family are recorded on the 1921 census. Hugh had an older sister Mary Ursula.
Alfred and Blanche moved back to Leamington and were living at 29 Leam Terrace in the early 1930s.
In 1934 Hugh, aged 19, sailed from Birkenhead to Rangoon in Burma as an Indian Police Probationer. He must have return to England at some point and sailed again from London to Colombo in Ceylon (Sri Lanka) in 1939 as a member of the Burma Police.
In 1940 Hugh Lilley became an officer in the 7th (Burma Police) Battalion of the Burma Rifles which was formed from men of the Burma Police and the Burma Military Police including was Gurkha, Sikh, Punjabi Muslim and Burmese soldiers, led by British officers who were volunteers from the Civil Police.
An account on the Burma Campaign website describes a Japanese attack, which began on 30th January 1942. The 7th Battalion was responsible for the defence of the southern part of Moulmein. After heavy fighting, orders for a withdrawal across the River Salween were given. There appears to have been some confusions as a launch carrying Battalion Headquarters was grounded on a sandbank and the officers and men had to get ashore by wading or swimming. Battalion losses at Moulmein were reported as one British officer missing believed killed, 35 Other Ranks killed in action and around 150 men missing, though many of these rejoined the battalion some days later. Given the date the British Officer was probably Hugh Lilley.
Officers of the 7th(Burma Police) Battalion, Burma Rifles.
Hugh Lilley is third from the right on the front row.
(The Burma Campaign website)
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Additional source of information
Passenger lists – accessed via FindMyPast
The Burma Campaign website (indiaburmasoldiers.co.uk/burif.htm)
