Virtual
War Memorial
Australia

Captain Oscar Jilley (Service No:134) enlisted as a Private in the AIF on 16 September 1914, and was Colour Sergeant attached to 16th Infantry Battalion when he embarked with his Unit from Melbourne for Egypt on board HMAT A40 Ceramic on 30 February 1915. Promoted to Company Sergeant Major, he served at Gallipoli, and was WiA (GSW) in the Dardanelles on 2 May 1915. Promoted 'in the field' to Lieutenant then Captain, he embarked from Alexandria for Marseilles with 48th Infantry Battalion on 2 June 1916. Captain Jilley Died of Wounds (GSW at Pozierres) on 6 August 1916. Captain Jilley was Mentioned in despatches on 13 July 1916 (AWM) 'For services in connection with the prepartion for, and execution of, the operation of re-embarkation. Was a member of the 'C' (final) party to leave the trenches'. Older brother Westgarth (Private; Service No:20486) also served in WWI, and both Westgarth and Oscar had served in England with 2nd Manchester Regiment.

Oscar was born in Lancashire, England in 1877, youngest of three children of John William Jilley (b1829 in Yorkshire, England) and Margaret Elizabeth Sewell (b1846 in Lancashire, England). John had worked as a White Smith and Tobacconist in Yorkshire, and was a Commercial Traveller in 1873 when he and Margaret married in Cheshire. John and Margaret settled in Lancashire, where they raised their family and John was a Cigar Merchant, Tobacconist and Commercial Traveller.

Oscar worked as a Telgraph Messenger with the Postal Department before immigrating in 1898, arriving in Albany, Western Australian on board the Austral. Oscar moved to Collie, where he worked as a Miner and, in 1906 in Perth, married Ann McNaughton (b1868 in Kingston, Victoria). Oscar and Ann  lived in Bridgetown before settling at Kulikup, where son Robert was born and Oscar was a Farmer. Following Oscar's death in France in 1916, Ann ran the farm until Robert was of age. Ann died in 1948.