Arthur Morgan Rees

CBE The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

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

Welsh Welsh may refer to: Related to Wales * Welsh, referring or related to Wales * Welsh language, a Brittonic Celtic language spoken in Wales * Welsh people People * Welsh (surname) * Sometimes used as a synonym for the ancient Britons (Celtic peop ...

international

rugby union Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In its m ...

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 (Wales), community located in Carmarthenshire, Wales, which also includes the villages of Bethlehem, Carmarthenshire, Bethlehem and Capel Gwynfe. A notable local landscape feature is Y Garn Goch with two Ir ...

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

Llandovery College , image = Llandovery College (geograph 5927072).jpg , image_size = , motto = Gwell Dysg Na Golud(here areno riches better than learning) , established = , closed = , type = Independent day and boa ...

before matriculating to

St Catharine's College, Cambridge St Catharine's College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1473 as Katharine Hall, it adopted its current name in 1860. The college is nicknamed "Catz". The college is located in the historic city-centre of Camb ...

, 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 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) and ...

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

squadron leader Squadron leader (Sqn Ldr in the RAF ; SQNLDR in the RAAF and RNZAF; formerly sometimes S/L in all services) is a commissioned rank in the Royal Air Force and the air forces of many countries which have historical British influence. It is also ...

, ending as acting

wing commander Wing commander (Wg Cdr in the RAF, the IAF, and the PAF, WGCDR in the RNZAF and RAAF, formerly sometimes W/C in all services) is a senior commissioned rank in the British Royal Air Force and air forces of many countries which have historical ...

. 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 ( mi, Ōpango), represents New Zealand in men's international rugby union, which is considered the country's national sport. The team won the Rugby World Cup in 1987 ...

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 contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established 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 contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established 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 of Nations, Commonwealth countries, most of whic ...

in 1970 and was made a Deputy Lieutenant to Staffordshire in 1967. In May 1977 he was granted the

Freedom of the City The Freedom of the City (or Borough in some parts of the UK) is an honour bestowed by a municipality upon a valued member of the community, or upon a visiting celebrity or dignitary. Arising from the medieval practice of granting respected ...

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 ( la, Ordo Fratrum Hospitalis Sancti Ioannis Hierosolymitani), commonly known as the Knights Hospitaller (), was a medieval and early modern Catholic military order. It was headq ...

Bibliography

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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rees, Arthur 1912 births 1998 deaths category:Officers in English police forces category:Officers in Welsh police forces Alumni of St Catharine's College, Cambridge Barbarian F.C. players British Chief Constables category:Metropolitan Police officers 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 People educated at Llandovery College Welsh recipients of the Queen's Police Medal Rugby union flankers Rugby union players from Carmarthenshire Wales international rugby union players Welsh police officers Welsh rugby union players Wrexham RFC players