While at Hilton, he became interested in taxidermy and birds mounted by him are displayed in the Hilton School Museum. He played rugby in the Natal Midlands XV, and for the Transvaal under-19s. On 26 Jul 1950 he was killed in a motorcycle accident on Louis Botha Ave, Johannesburg. In 1965 his father donated a rugby field and pavilion to Hilton College, named the Graeme Gilfillan Pavilion.