George Lee (Australian general)

Lieutenant General George Leonard Lee, CMG, DSO (25 June 1860 – 13 April 1939) was a senior officer in the early Australian Military Forces. While working as a storekeeper, Lee joined the New South Wales Lancers in 1889. He was commissioned into the New South Wales Permanent Forces in 1892, was commandant of the Cavalry School of Instruction from 1895 to 1897, and commanded a contingent from the New South Wales Lancers in South Africa during the Second Boer War. He led the Lancers in some 30 engagements between January and October 1900 and was awarded the Distinguished Service Order and Mentioned in Despatches for his leadership.

Shortly after his return to Australia, Lee joined the Australian Military Forces following the Federation of Australia and, over the next decade, served in increasingly senior positions in the Administrative and Instructional Staff. He was commandant of military forces in the state of Tasmania (1911–1912) and in Queensland (1912–1917) and New South Wales (1917–1920) during the First World War. Lee, who was by then considered too old for overseas service, remained active on the home front. He oversaw the expansion and administration of military camps, the instruction of new recruits, the use of war essential resources and, during the Spanish flu pandemic, the housing and quarantine of returning soldiers. In recognition of his efforts, Lee was appointed a Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George in 1917 and, on his retirement in 1920, was granted the honorary rank of lieutenant general. He later managed two oyster leases in Port Stephens and died in Sydney in 1939, aged 78.