Commander George Whiteside Hillyard, R.N., died on March 24, aged 79. Of high fame in the Lawn Tennis world, he enjoyed success at many games, and if able to give more time to cricket would have taken a prominent place among fast bowlers over fifty years ago. After captaining the Britannia training ship cricket XI, he played in turn for Middlesex, Hertfordshire and Leicestershire, while for the Gentlemen at the Oval in 1895 he took five wickets for 152 runs in the two Players innings of a drawn match. At Boston in 1894 he took ten wickets for 15 runs against Fifteen of Massachusetts during the second tour of America he made with teams captained by Lord Hawke. At Cannes he played golf with great skill, notably when beating Harold Hilton in 1903 in a club match. Swimming, pigeon-shooting and billiards afforded Hillyard opportunities to win prizes, besides the many honours that came to him on the tennis courts. For many years he acted in official capacities at Wimbledon..
Wisden Cricketers' Almanack

At the 1908 London Olympics Hillyard won the tennis gold medal in the men's doubles with Reginald Doherty. He was subsequently secretary of the All England Club between 1907 and 1924 during which time he oversaw the move from Worple Road to the current site. He married Blanche Bingley, one of the pioneers of the ladies' game. He also excelled at golf and billiards.
Martin Williamson