Arthur Morgan Rees

CBE The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

, QPM, DL (20 November 1912 – 13 May 1998) was a

Welsh Welsh may refer to: Related to Wales * Welsh, of or about Wales * Welsh language, spoken in Wales * Welsh people, an ethnic group native to Wales Places * Welsh, Arkansas, U.S. * Welsh, Louisiana, U.S. * Welsh, Ohio, U.S. * Welsh Basin, during t ...

international

rugby union Rugby union football, commonly known simply as rugby union in English-speaking countries and rugby 15/XV in non-English-speaking world, Anglophone Europe, or often just rugby, is a Contact sport#Terminology, close-contact team sport that orig ...

flanker, the Chief Constable of Denbighshire and later of Stafford and Stoke-on-Trent, a sports' administrator and World War II fighter pilot.

Biography

Rees was born in the village of

Llangadog Llangadog () is a village and community in Carmarthenshire, Wales, which also includes the villages of Bethlehem and Capel Gwynfe. A notable local landscape feature is Y Garn Goch with two Iron Age hill forts.The Welsh Academy Encyclopedia of ...

in 1912. He was raised as a Welsh speaker, not learning English until the age of seven. He was educated at

Llandovery College Llandovery College () is a coeducational independent boarding and day school in Llandovery, Carmarthenshire, Wales. The college consists of Gollop Preparatory, Senior School and Sixth Form. It was previously known as "Welsh College, Llandovery" ...

before matriculating to

St Catharine's College, Cambridge St Catharine's College is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge, England. Founded in 1473 as Katharine Hall, it adopted its current name in 1860. The college is nicknamed "Catz". The colle ...

, earning two rugby blues. He joined the Metropolitan Police after leaving Cambridge in 1935, joining the

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the Air force, air and space force of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. It was formed towards the end of the World War I, First World War on 1 April 1918, on the merger of t ...

after the outbreak of the Second World War. Serving as a pilot, he rose to the rank of

squadron leader Squadron leader (Sqn Ldr or S/L) is a senior officer rank used by some air forces, with origins from the Royal Air Force. The rank is used by air forces of many countries that have historical British influence. Squadron leader is immediatel ...

, ending as acting

wing commander Wing commander (Wg Cdr or W/C) is a senior officer rank used by some air forces, with origins from the Royal Air Force. The rank is used by air forces of many countries that have historical British influence. Wing commander is immediately se ...

. Rees was capped for Wales 13 times, most notably as pack leader in 1935 when they beat the

All Blacks The New Zealand national rugby union team, commonly known as the All Blacks, is the representative men's national team in the sport of rugby union for the nation of New Zealand, which is considered the country's national sport. Famed for th ...

13-12. It was described by journalist JBG Thomas as, "The most exciting international match ever played in Wales." In 1943 he married Dorothy Webb, with whom he would have a daughter, Rosemary. With the end of the war, he returned to the Metropolitan force, rising through the ranks until becoming the Chief Constable of Denbighshire in 1957. He remained with the Welsh force until 1964, when he became the Chief Constable of Staffordshire.

Awards

Rees received several awards for his many years as a high ranking police officer and his work on sporting bodies. In 1960 he was appointed

Officer of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

, which was followed by

Commander of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

in the

1974 Birthday Honours The Queen's Birthday Honours 1974 were appointments in many of the Commonwealth realms of Queen Elizabeth II to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries. They were published on 7 June 1974 for ...

. He was awarded the

Queen's Police Medal The King's Police Medal (KPM) is awarded to police in the United Kingdom for gallantry or distinguished service. It was also formerly awarded within the wider British Empire, including Commonwealth countries, most of which now have their own hono ...

in 1970 and was made a Deputy Lieutenant to Staffordshire in 1967. In May 1977 he was granted the Freedom of the City of London and in November of the same year was made a

Knight of the Order of St John The Order of Knights of the Hospital of Saint John of Jerusalem, commonly known as the Knights Hospitaller (), is a Catholic military order. It was founded in the crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem in the 12th century and had headquarters there un ...

Bibliography

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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rees, Arthur 1912 births 1998 deaths Alumni of St Catharine's College, Cambridge Barbarian F.C. players British Chief Constables British World War II pilots Cambridge University R.U.F.C. players Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Deputy lieutenants of Staffordshire Knights of the Order of St John London Welsh RFC players Metropolitan Police officers Officers in English police forces Officers in Welsh police forces People educated at Llandovery College Rugby football people awarded knighthoods Rugby union flankers Rugby union players from Carmarthenshire Wales international rugby union players Welsh police officers Welsh recipients of the Queen's Police Medal Welsh rugby union players Wrexham RFC players