Lily Frances "Lal" Chitty, OBE, FSA (20 March 1893 – 8 February 1979) was a British archaeologist and independent scholar, who specialised in the prehistoric archaeology of Wales and the west of England.
[2][3] She then worked at the General Post Office in London for a short period of time, before serving as a member of the Women's Land Army in her home county of Shropshire for the rest of the war.
[2] Around this time, she began to create an analytical card index of "national and local archaeological periodicals and other literature"; this would become an important database for professional archaeologists and students.
[2] Her artistic training meant that she was asked by Cyril Fox to draw the maps for his book The personality of Britain (1935);[3] however, these were not acknowledged as her work until the third edition which was published in 1938.
[2] In old age, Chitty retained an interest in archaeology, and attended many of the activities (including lectures and excursions) of the learned societies of which she was a member.
[2] In the 1956 New Year Honours, she was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in recognition of her work as "Chief Correspondent for Shropshire Ancient Monuments Department".
[2] It was titled Prehistoric Man in Wales and the West: Essays in Honour of Lily F. Chitty and edited by Frances Lynch and Colin B.