Branch of Service

Army

Conflict

World War I (1914-1918)

Date of Enlistment

03/11/1914

Date of Discharge

29/06/1919

Place of Enlistment

Royal Military College, Duntroon ACT

Gender

Male

Date of Birth

10/12/1893

Place of Birth

Birchip, Victoria

Address (at enlistment)

Royal Military College, Duntroon ACT

Occupation

Soldier

Next of Kin

John Thomas Lee (father), Narraport via Birchip, Victoria

Final Rank

Major

Final Unit

7 Brigade, 2 Division AIF

Distinguished Service Order (Commonwealth of Australia Gazette: 23 May 1919, page 888, position 19)
Military Cross (Commonwealth of Australia Gazette: 6 April 1916, page 860, position 27)
Mentioned in Despatches (Commonwealth of Australia Gazette: 6 April 1916, page 862, position 67)
Mentioned in Despatches (Commonwealth of Australia Gazette: 23 May 1919, page 878, position 21)

Lee entered the Royal Military College, Duntroon on 7 March 1912 and graduated on 2 November 1914. He was a member of the guard of honour at the naming ceremony at Canberra on 12 March 1913. He took particular interest in the ceremony because he was a distant relative of Lady Denman. Bean mentions Lee with the 13th Battalion moving up the Aghyl Dere during the Battle of Sari Bair on 7 August 1915. He was wounded during the fighting, bullet wounds to the back of his left arm behind the radial surface artery and to the thigh. After recovering in hospital in England, Lee transferred to the 45th Battalion as Adjutant in March 1916 and arrived in France in June 1916. The 45th Battalion was involved in the fighting at Pozières during August 1916 at which point Lee was promoted to Major.

After training at a Staff School in early 1917 Lee was appointed as Brigade Major to the 7th Brigade in August and was accidentally injured during training at a bomb school shortly after. Lee ended the war at the War Office. He was awarded the Distinguished Service Order in 1918 for his work that year with the 7th Brigade. In 1952 his history of the Royal Military College, Duntroon was published. He died in 1962.

Charles Bean, 'Official History of Australia in the War of 1914-18' (Vol. II p.587)
Colonel J.E. Lee, 'Duntroon: The Royal Military College of Australia 1911-1946', 1952
Image from anzacsonline.net.au
AWM Honours & Awards
NAA RecordSearch - Series B2455 (First Australian Imperial Force Personnel Dossiers, 1914-1920)
Stories from the ACT Memorial, 'The Honour Guard at the Canberra Commencement Ceremony', ACT Heritage Library www.library.act.gov.au/find/history/stories_from_the_act_memorial