Lilian Godfrey MACKRILL
1905 - 1949 (~ 43 years) Has 4 ancestors and 10 descendants in this family tree.
1819 - 1895 (76 years)
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Name Lilian Godfrey MACKRILL Relationship 
with Rodney VOJVODICH Birth Jul 1905 Bexley Heath, Kent, England 
Gender Female Death Record 1949 Western Australia, Australia #587 Residence 1949 Perth, Western Australia, Australia 327 Pier Street Burial 1949 Cemetery, Karrakatta, Western Australia, Australia - CREMATORIUM ROSE GARDENS-9B-0011 KC00004279
Death 25 Mar 1949 Perth, Western Australia, Australia Newspaper Article28 Mar 1949 [1] Newspaper Article29 Mar 1949 [2] Newspaper Article21 Apr 1949 [3] Newspaper Article23 Apr 1949 [4] Patriarch & Matriarch 
William Godfrey MACKRILL, b. 1819 d. 1895 (Age 76 years) (Grandfather)
Ellen JONES, b. Abt 1862, Gravesend, Kent, Englandd. Oct 1921, Dartford, Kent, England (Age ~ 59 years) (Mother) Person ID I50784 MyBradyTree
Father 
Stephen Henry Godfrey MACKRILL, b. Mar 1856, Erith, Kent, England d. Dec 1937, Crayford, Kent, England (Age ~ 81 years) Mother Ellen JONES, b. Abt 1862, Gravesend, Kent, England d. Oct 1921, Dartford, Kent, England (Age ~ 59 years) Marriage 4 Feb 1884 Erith, Kent, England Family ID F17137 Group Sheet | Family Chart
Family 1 Alfred MACKRILL, b. 1 Jun 1905, Dartford, Kent, England d. 18 Jul 1982, Rivervale, Western Australia, Australia (Age 77 years)
Marriage UNKNOWN Children 1. Alfred Francis Steven MACKRILL, b. Mar 1926, Dartford, Kent, England d. DECEASED, Perth, Western Australia, Australia + 2. Marguritta MACKRILL, b. 1929, Northcliffe, Western Australia, Australia d. 26 Jan 2013, Perth, Western Australia, Australia (Age 84 years)▻ James Alfred PROCTOR m. 1952Family ID F17138 Group Sheet | Family Chart
Family 2 Sydney Chadwick MCDONALD, b. 25 Sep 1899, Dublin, Ireland d. 14 Jul 1975, West Heidelberg, Victoria, Australia (Age 75 years)
Other Partners: Iris Lavinia POLKINGHORN m. 28 Apr 1921Marriage 1938 Perth, Western Australia, Australia Reference Number #2022 Children + 1. Living Family ID F17136 Group Sheet | Family Chart
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Event Map Click to hide 
Birth - Jul 1905 - Bexley Heath, Kent, England 
Marriage - 1938 - Perth, Western Australia, Australia 
Death Record - #587 - 1949 - Western Australia, Australia Residence - 327 Pier Street - 1949 - Perth, Western Australia, Australia 
Burial - 1949 - Cemetery, Karrakatta, Western Australia, Australia Death - 25 Mar 1949 - Perth, Western Australia, Australia = Link to Google Earth Pin Legend 
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Notes - I never believed Reg when he told me as a kid that he had tried to rescue a dieing woman. I got most of the info from Trove. My Aunt Bernice told me, confirmed by Uncle Snow about his role in this story. There is a famous book in genealogy Darryl called "I Should Have Listened to my Grandma"
When I was 2 years old we were living on the corner of Brisbane and Dangan Street in Highgate. My Aunty Bernice from Carnamah was living with Mum and Dad at the time. Also staying at our place was Uncle Don, Mum’s brother. He was friendly with a lady who was staying nearby at 327 Pier Street, Sydney June McDonald. June as she was widely known was staying with her father Sydney Chadwick McDonald and her stepmother Lillian Godfrey MacKrill. June was only 17 and wanted to marry Don. They were denied permission at the last moment by June’s mother who refused to give her permission because June was so young and Sydney had no right to give permission. Through the relationship between Don and June June’s stepsister, Marjorie and stepbrother Sydney were friends with Bernice and Reg. Marjorie was 19 and young Sydney was 10 Bernice was 18 and Reg was 10. Young Sydney and Reg were classmates at Highgate Primary School.
March 25 1949 was the hottest March day in Perth for 15 years and Mum spent all day trying to keep me cool. Bernice Brady and Reg Miller went with their friends Marjorie and Sydney McDonald to the “pictures” to cool down. They were also celebrating young Syd’s birthday. It was going to be the worst birthday of his life. The outside section of the theatre was popular on hot evenings was surrounded by poplars, and attractive gardens. The group headed off to watch Robert Mitchum and Jane Greer in “Out of the Past” at the Premiere Theatre on the corner of Bulwer and Stirling Streets in Highgate. They sat in the outdoor deck chairs and the night began to cool down until the intermission when Marjorie sent Sydney and Reg the short distance of about 100m to check and see how Syd’s mum, Lilian McDonald was. Lillian had been acting strangely she had given all her rings to Marjorie and said to young Sydney, ”I will see you tomorrow not on feet but on wings.”
The Premier Theatre on the corner of Stirling and Bulwer Street was an oasis on a hot night with its cool outdoor section.
Reg said he could smell the gas before they got to the house. Having no key Reg and Syd smashed the panel near the front door and opened the window. Reg and Sydney ran into the kitchen and saw Lilian slumped near the gas stove with her head still inside. The boys rang for an ambulance from a corner telephone box and asked neighbours to help move the body and turn off the gas. The boys went back to the Premiere to get Marjorie and Bernice. Lillian was found to be dead on arrival at Royal Perth Hospital. The Coroner found Lilian Godfrey McDonald died from carbon monoxide poisoning self-administered while she was suffering mental depression as the result of nervous disorders. In October that year after the tragedy June McDonald turned eighteen and married Don Brady. Ironically at the time a function was held at our house in Dangan Street. Sydney accused Snowy Forward, my uncle, of attempting to interfere with his daughter, Marj, when Snowy accidentally walked into a bedroom where Marj and Bernice were changing. The relationship cooled after that and because of Dad’s bronchitis and we moved to the Goldfields, namely Meekatharra. Dad spent the rest of his days in the Goldfields until he retired.
Regards
Norm Miller - 2014
Reference Your Name Here. "Lilian Godfrey MACKRILL". Brady Family Tree in Western Australia. https://bradyfamilytree.org/genealogy/getperson.php?personID=I50784&tree=BRADY2008 (accessed April 13, 2025).
Sources - [S954] Trove, Family Notices. (1949, March 28). The West Australian (Perth, WA : 1879 - 1954), p. 1. Retrieved May 10, 2013, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article47653855.
- [S954] Trove, Family Notices. (1949, March 29). The West Australian (Perth, WA : 1879 - 1954), p. 1. Retrieved May 10, 2013, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article47654039.
- [S954] Trove, Boy's Discovery Of Mother;s Body. (1949, April 21). The West Australian (Perth, WA : 1879 - 1954), p. 15. Retrieved May 10, 2013, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article47658507.
- [S954] Trove, "I'll Be Here Tomorrow....By Wings!". (1949, April 23). Mirror (Perth, WA : 1921 - 1956), p. 9. Retrieved May 10, 2013, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article76186414.