Norman Whitley was born and educated in the lacrosse stronghold of Manchester, and it was obvious that, upon going to Emmanuel College, Cambridge, he would play the sport and in 1903 he had the honour of taking part in the first Varsity Match, which Cambridge won 19-6. Whitley won a second Blue in 1904, when he was captain, and a third in 1905. A centre, he played regularly in the annual North versus South match, and also won representative honours with Lancashire and England. He also helped South Manchester win the English Club Championship for the Iroquois Cup.
After University Whitley was called to the Bar by the Inner Temple in 1907, and practiced on the Northern Circuit until the outbreak of World War I, when he joined the Manchester Regiment as a private before receiving a commission, and rose to the rank of major. He spent many years on service in the Far East,and was awarded the Military Cross for his gallant service. He left the Army in 1920, and then held several important judiciary posts in the East, before taking up the post of Chief Justice of Uganda from 1937 until his retirement in 1947. Whitley was knighted in 1941.
Great Britain