Barrie Hillier was born near Middlesbrough, one of the clubs for whom his father, Joe, kept goal. But Barrie completed his schooldays in Gosport, when his family moved south and soon signed for Southampton. After a few games at right-back for the Reserves, he was called up for National Service, with the Royal Artillery and while stationed at Rhyl, played as an amateur for Chester, as well as the Army Western Command. Returning to Southampton he at last saw some League action but never more than three games in a row.

He featured mainly in the Reserves, always as left-back and for a while as captain. He did a bit of coaching in local schools (often with colleagues Bill Ellerington and Pat Parker see below) but turned his back on the full-time game while still only 23, to go non-league, part-time as he began to develop a business career, becoming a marketing-director of a consumer-goods company in east Hampshire. He retired in 1998. Barrie was also a talented enough cricketer to play for Hants 2nds.  His later years were spent in a Sarisbury Green care home and he passed away in 2016