Item 53 - Artifacts

George Edwin Osborne Lilley was a photographer born in Kingston in 1918. George served with the Royal Canadian Air Force during World War II. Just prior to the end of the war and after the war, he was employed at the National Film Board of Canada where he produced films for foreign distribution, working under John Grierson.

After joining the militia he was, at the same time, actively involved in the public relations role of the Canadian Armed Forces. He served as Public Information Officer from 1955-1974. He retired from the Armed Forces in 1974. Mr. Lilley joined Transport Canada as Public Affairs Officer. He was stationed with the Canadian Coast Guard in Toronto.

Mr. Lilley had been interested in photography from an early age. For many years he was a freelance photographer in Kingston. His photographic work involved news photography, documentaries, advertising and promotional work. As far as the news side of photographic gathering is concerned, Mr. Lilley was under contract to provide news photographs for the Kingston Whig-Standard, the Toronto Telegram, the Globe and Mail, the Ottawa Journal, the Montreal Star, Montreal Gazette, the Associated Press, the United Press, Time-Life Fortune, and some European newspapers. He passed away on 22 November 2003.