Lily Shalless, nee Adams, was born in the City of Adelaide. Her father was the proprietor of a livery stable in Currie Street which did brisk business hiring out horse-drawn vehicles on a daily basis. The family lived comfortably in a large rented house in Morphett Street and Lily, the middle child of three girls, had various pastimes, including ice skating, the violin and dancing. Lily went to the 'upstairs school' at the Dominican Convent in Franklin Street until she was about seventeen. Afterwards she was expected to stay at home but a year or so later when her younger sister was about to leave school, Lily was daunted by the prospect of four women in the house all day and got herself a job at Charles Moore Ltd. She began on a cash desk, graduated to the office, was trained on the Comptometer to balance the cashiers' dockets and within a few years was in charge of the section. Lily met her husband-to-be in about 1927 but they did not marry until 1934.

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