Biography:
Philip Algernon Tillard was born 6 June 1882, the eldest son of Algernon Tillard and Mary Tillard (daughter of Thomas Atkinson of Baltimore, USA) of Clover Hill, Maryland. His father had originally lived at Stukeley Hall in Huntingdonshire before moving to America.
Philip came to Winchester College in September 1895 from Horris Hill. He was in C House, Du Boulay's, under AK Cook. He left in the spring of 1900 for Magdalen College, Oxford, gaining his BA in 1904. In 1905, he joined the Army as a 2nd Lt in the 2nd Battalion Royal Fusiliers. In 1912 he retired from the service and joined the Shropshire Yeomanry.
When war broke out he was Land Agent to Mr Noel H Wills of Cirencester. He first served with the Indian cavalry in 1915 in France but then transferred to the East Surrey Regiment which had taken heavy losses early in the Somme battles, the casualties including Captain Charles Stanley Pearce (C 1907-1913, killed in action 1 Juy 1916 - see individual entry). By mid November 1916, the East Surreys were in the front line near Courcelette and early in the morning of 19 November formed up for an assault on Desire Trench, in the final attack of the Somme offensive of 1916. Casualties were heavy and at some point Tillard was killed. It is likely that he was in charge of B Company that day.
Tillard had married Augusta Muriel Hay Murray, daughter of Robert Murray, on 10 June 1914.