Early Life
Willis was born in January 1922 in Murwillumbah, New South Wales, the first son of Archibald Clarence Willis, a butter factory hand and First World War veteran, and his wife, Vida Mabel Buttenshaw. His younger brother was NSW Legislative Council Member and President, Max Willis. He was educated at Tyalgum Public School and then at Murwillumbah High School, at which he was Dux of his year and won a scholarship to study Arts at the University of Sydney.
He received a Bachelor of Arts with double honours in Modern History and Geography (BA (Hons)) from Sydney University in 1942. He served in the Second Australian Imperial Force from 1941 to 1946 in Army Intelligence in New Guinea and Philippines during the Second World War ending the war with the rank of Sergeant. He remained in the military after demobilisation, being discharged from the regular military on 3 June 1946. He continued to serve in the Citizen Military Forces (CMF) from 1946, achieving the rank of Major in 1948, until retiring in 1958. He married Norma Dorothy Thompson on 11 May 1951 and they had a daughter and two sons. Willis was employed as a senior geographer and investigation officer for Cumberland County Council
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