James Travers Lees, QPM (18 August 1920 – 3 September 2004) was the Commissioner of the

New South Wales Police The New South Wales Police Force (NSW Police Force; previously the New South Wales Police Service and New South Wales Police) is the primary law enforcement agency of the state of New South Wales, Australia. Divided into Police Area Commands (P ...

from 17 October 1979 to 29 December 1981.

Private life

Lees was born in 1920 at

Hornsby, New South Wales Hornsby is a suburb in the Northern Sydney region, or Upper North Shore of Sydney in the state of New South Wales, Australia, approximately north-west of the Sydney central business district. It is the administrative centre of the local ...

, and went on to attend the

Hurlstone Agricultural High School , motto_translation = For my country , location = Glenfield, Sydney, Macarthur region, New South Wales , country = Australia , coordinates = , pushpin_map = Australia Sydney , pushpin_image = ...

. He had initially wanted to be a farmer but found that he was not suited for a life on the land. Lees married his wife Norma in October 1944. They went on to have a family with children Sue, John and Peter. Lees also taught a Sunday School and was heavily involved with his church. He also established the Police Christian Fellowship. Lees died on 2 September 2004 at the age of 84. His funeral was attended by incumbent Police Commissioner

Ken Moroney Kenneth Edward Moroney, (born 15 September 1945) is a former police officer who served as the Commissioner of the New South Wales Police Force from 2002 until 2007. Personal life Born in the inner-Sydney suburb of Glebe, New South Wales, Moron ...

as well as former Police Commissioners Cec Abbott, John Avery and

Tony Lauer Anthony Raymond Lauer, (born 19 December 1935) is a former police officer who served as the Commissioner of the New South Wales Police from 1991 until 1996. In February 1996, Lauer's term ended in controversy with his resignation soon after the ...

Police career

After giving up on farming Lees accepted as a cadet in the New South Wales Police Force at the age of 17 in 1936. Within six months he was made a

constable A constable is a person holding a particular office, most commonly in criminal law enforcement. The office of constable can vary significantly in different jurisdictions. A constable is commonly the rank of an officer within the police. Other peop ...

and began to rise through the ranks of the force. In 1976 Lees became Assistant Police Commissioner and was appointed Commissioner in October 1979. As well as receiving 12 New South Wales Police commendations he also received 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 1976, the

Queen Elizabeth II Silver Jubilee Medal The Queen Elizabeth II Silver Jubilee Medal (french: link=no, Médaille du jubilé d'argent de la reine Elizabeth II) is a commemorative medal created in 1977 to mark the 25th anniversary of Queen Elizabeth II's accession in 1952. The medal is p ...

in 1977, the National Medal also in 1977, and the honour of receiving the

Australian Father of the Year award The Australian Father of the Year Award is presented annually to "a distinguished father who has demonstrated support, guidance and love to his children or other children through his working role or family life." Awards The award was inaugurated ...

in 1981.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lees, James 1920 births 2004 deaths Commissioners of the New South Wales Police People from Sydney Australian recipients of the Queen's Police Medal