1879 Dec 21. Allenford, Arran Township, Bruce County, Ontario. His father Newyear Lyle was a farmer.
1891 census living with his parents in Bruce North, Ontario
Although born in Ontario, Hilliard Lyle spent much of his early life based out of Winnipeg where he worked as a commercial traveler.
1900 Enlisted in Lord Strathcona's Horse. The regiment was one of the last in the British Empire to be created and raised by a private individual, Donald Alexander Smith, 1st Baron Strathcona and Mount Royal. During the Boer War, Lord Strathcona recruited and equipped the cavalry regiment at his own expense for service in South Africa. Many skilled horsemen (cowboys and North-West Mounted Police members) enlisted, allowing for a short training period and rapid deployment to Africa. The 537 officers and men, as well as 599 horses, of the new regiment sailed from Halifax on 18 March 1900 and arrived in Cape Town on 10 April. Supposedly General Kitchener was astonished at the size of the newly arrived Canadian soldiers. Their commander, Sam Steele, is said to have replied "My apologies, sir. I combed all of Canada and these are the smallest I could find." After the war, the regiment boarded ship at Cape Town on 20 January 1901 and arrived in London on 14 February. Here they met Lord Strathcona for the first time and were presented their medals by King Edward VII personally. On its return to Canada on 9 March 1901, the regiment was disbanded.
1904. He was also active in local lacrosse circles during the early 1900s but was not a member of the Shamrock Lacrosse Club when it won the 1903 Manitoba Provincial Championship. Nonetheless he accompanied them to the 1904 St. Louis World’s Fair where the squad won Olympic gold by besting the St. Louis Amateur Athletic Association with a score of 8-2.
1906 Census . He was a boarder at a house in Winnipeg, Manitoba
1911 census living in Winnipeg City with wife Mary (29) and son Williard (2)
1914 Dec 5. Attested for Canadian Forces. Married to Mary Alberta Lyle and lived in Vancouver at this date. He was an Insurance Salesman who had previously served in Strathcona Horse, 103 Rifles
1916 Sep 12. 2nd Can. Inf. Bn. Lt. H. Lyle to be temp. Capt.
1917 Apr 13 Can. Inf. Bns. Temp. Capt. H. Lyle relinquishes the actg. rank of Maj. on ceasing to comd. a Co.
1917 Jun 4. DSO gazetted. Capt. (actg. Maj.) Hilliard Lyle, Inf.
1917 Jul 23. MID
1920 Jul 27 Joined ADRIC with service no 10 (he took 6 years off his age on joining)
1920 Oct 21 Promoted Company Commander level (company not stated) but the same day he reverts to T/Cadet. It is possible that he was at B Coy,
1920 Oct 29. Resigned from ADRIC. No reason given
Served with the Greek Army against Turkey in 1920-22, I cannot substantiate this
1925 Nov 6 . He leaves UK for Canada on SS Regina. His profession is "landlord" "Col Hilliard Lyle"
He spent time in Eastern and Western Canada, eventually setting up a general store in Beaver Lodge, Alberta.
1931 May 21. Died in Beaverlodge, Alberta, Canada. He killed his wife of two years following a series of domestic problems and then turned the gun on himself in the basement of his house.
2004. He was inducted into the Manitoba Sports Hall of Fame, along with the rest of his gold medal-winning team