Private Eric Edward Lilley
Eric Lilley, the son of john Lilley, was born in Paris on February 25, 1896. He attended Paris High School where he appeared on the Honour Roll. He attended the Paris Presbyterian Church. He was still a student when he enlisted at age 19 with the 125th Battalion in Paris.
He was a member of the 9th Platoon that embarked aboard the S.S Scandinavia on February 12, 1916. The 9th and 10th Platoons were the first contingent of soldiers from Paris, nearly 100 men, to go overseas. He was transferred on April 15, 1918 to the Canadian Machine Gun Depot in Seaford. He was shipped to France on June 22. On June 25, he left for Canadian Corps Reinforcement Centre, a vital military installation in France during the First World War. It served as the central hub for receiving, organizing, training, and holding reinforcements before they were dispatched to existing units in the Canadian Expeditionary Force. In Eric’s case. He might have been sent there in a first step to going home. By April 12, 1919, Eric embarked for Canada. He was discharged in Canada on April 22, 1919.
Eric married Edith Mary Kerr in March, 1929. They lived in the Oshawa area for 32 years before his death. He worked for General Motors in Oshawa for 25 years. He retired in 1954 due to poor health. Eric Lilley is buried in the Mount Lawn Cemetery in Oshawa.