Air Marshal Sir Ronald Beresford Lees, (27 April 1910 – 18 May 1991) was a senior

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) an ...

commander.

Early life

Lees was born in

Broken Hill, New South Wales Broken Hill is an inland mining city in the far west of outback New South Wales, Australia. It is near the border with South Australia on the crossing of the Barrier Highway (A32) and the Silver City Highway (B79), in the Barrier Range. It i ...

, the son of John Thomas Lees and Eliza Jane Moyle. He was educated at Prince Alfred's College and St Peter's College,

Adelaide Adelaide ( ) is the list of Australian capital cities, capital city of South Australia, the state's largest city and the list of cities in Australia by population, fifth-most populous city in Australia. "Adelaide" may refer to either Greater A ...

, and later read mathematics at the

University of Adelaide The University of Adelaide (informally Adelaide University) is a public research university located in Adelaide, South Australia. Established in 1874, it is the third-oldest university in Australia. The university's main campus is located on ...

.A Few of "The Few", Dennis Newton, Australian War Memorial, 1990,

RAF career

In January 1930, Lees joined the

Royal Australian Air Force "Through Adversity to the Stars" , colours = , colours_label = , march = , mascot = , anniversaries = RAAF Anniversary Commemoration ...

(RAAF) as a cadet at Point Cook, Victoria, and in January 1931 took up a short-service commission in the

(RAF).Air of Authority – A History of RAF Organisation – Air Marshal Sir Ronald Lees
/ref> He was made Officer Commanding No. 72 Squadron in 1938 and served in the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

, taking part in the

Battle of Britain The Battle of Britain, also known as the Air Battle for England (german: die Luftschlacht um England), was a military campaign of the Second World War, in which the Royal Air Force (RAF) and the Fleet Air Arm (FAA) of the Royal Navy defended ...

in 1940.Our Few of the Few
/ref> During the war he served as Station Commander at

RAF Coltishall Royal Air Force Coltishall, more commonly known as RAF Coltishall , is a former Royal Air Force station located North-North-East of Norwich, in the English county of Norfolk, East Anglia, which operated from 1938 to 2006. It was a fighter air ...

, as Senior Air Staff Officer at Headquarters No. 242 Group and then on the Sicily Invasion Force. After the war, Lees became Station Commander at

RAF Bassingbourn Royal Air Force Bassingbourn or more simply RAF Bassingbourn is a former Royal Air Force station located in Cambridgeshire approximately north of Royston, Hertfordshire and south west of Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, England. During the Second ...

. He was appointed Air Officer Commanding No. 83 Group in 1952, Assistant Chief of the Air Staff (Operations) in 1955 and Senior Air Staff Officer at Headquarters

RAF Fighter Command RAF Fighter Command was one of the commands of the Royal Air Force. It was formed in 1936 to allow more specialised control of fighter aircraft. It served throughout the Second World War. It earned near-immortal fame during the Battle of Britai ...

in 1958. He went on to be Deputy Chief of the Air Staff in 1960 and Commander-in-Chief of

RAF Germany The former Royal Air Force Germany (RAFG) was a command of the Royal Air Force and part of British Forces Germany. It consisted of units located in Germany, initially as part of the occupation following the Second World War, and later as part o ...

and

Second Tactical Air Force The RAF Second Tactical Air Force (2TAF) was one of three tactical air forces within the Royal Air Force (RAF) during and after the Second World War. It was made up of squadrons and personnel from the RAF, other British Commonwealth air forces ...

in 1963 before retiring in 1966.

References

, - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Lees, Ronald 1910 births 1991 deaths Military personnel from New South Wales Knights Commander of the Order of the Bath Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Recipients of the Distinguished Flying Cross (United Kingdom) Recipients of the Legion of Merit Commanders of the Legion of Merit Royal Air Force air marshals The Few