Anzac Day 2023 will mark 100 years since Maitland's Major General George Lee dedicated the East Maitland War Memorial to those lost in the Great War.
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Relatives of General Lee will attend the East Maitland morning Anzac Day service on Tuesday.
The below is an article on the life of General Lee, written by descendant Tom McLean.
A century ago Lieutenant General George Leonard Lee CMG DSO unveiled the East Maitland RSL War Memorial at the 1923 ANZAC Day.
Major General Lee was an old Maitlander.
At the unveiling, the mayor of East Maitland W.M. Porter welcomed him as a childhood friend.
General Lee was the son of John Leonard Lee who had been the mayor of Maitland in 1867, 1868 and 1878.
George had been a partner in his father's drapery and retail store, John Lee & Co, High Street, Maitland before commanding the NSW Lancers in the Boer War.
It was reported in the Newcastle Morning Herald at the time that at the unveiling General Lee "went on to review the glorious deeds of Australian soldiers in every theatre of the war," it said.
"Their unflinching courage, their repeated successful storming of positions, regarded as impregnable by British generals, had uplifted the morale of the allied troops, had daunted the enemy, and had won for them and for Australia, immortal fame."
General Lee would have known most of the families of those named on the monument having grown up in Maitland, was a member of the Agricultural & Horticultural Association, was clerk of the course for the Northern Jockey Club, played cricket with Pitnacree Cricket Club, competed in most local horse events, and his early military career was with the Hunter River Troop of Cavalry (Lancers).
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He was one of the founders of the Regimental Cavalry Band, and was instrumental in having it based in Maitland.
General Lee had a distinguished career as a cavalry officer following in the footsteps of his grandfather, Benjamin Lee, who settled at Leeholme, near Woodville in 1834, after he had served in the Napoleonic Wars in the 14th Light Dragoons.
Benjamin was reportedly in charge of the cavalry guard of the Duke of Wellington's tent at that most famous of battles, the Battle of Waterloo, before becoming the units riding master and acting adjutant.
At unveiling of the East Maitland War Memorial, General Lee placed an unusual floral tribute in the shape of a 1.2 metre tall model of the Eddystone lighthouse.
That lighthouse had become such a worldwide symbol of strength and resilience that a piece of the granite used was put on display at the 1881 Maitland Show.
At a nearby pavillion General Lee was the most successful exhibitor for shrubs and for foliage plants, with a very credible display.
The lighthouse was built on rocks in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean where many ships and countless lives had been lost.
Several lighthouses at that location had been swept away by the severe Atlantic storms until a design, where each block of granite was dovetailed into those around it, such that together they were able to withstand all that was thrown against them; like the ANZAC troops.
The message General Lee placed on that tribute was "lead, kindly, light".
A floral tribute similar to General Lee's will be placed on the war memorial at the 2023 Anzac Day service by the children of John and Gwen McLean (nee Lee), former East Maitland Sub branch members and relatives of Major General Lee.
An unconventional soldier
The general was an unusual man. Described as the 'complete soldier' - unconventional, bluff, sturdy, cheery and popular - lacking the stiff cold persona that often accompany high rank.
He was a Boer War veteran having command of the NSW Lancers.
His fondness of a horse amounted to almost an obsession.
In his younger days he was a fearless rider and was a leading cross country competitor and leader of the Maitland Hunt Club.
One notable ride in his military career was an inspection of the western districts from Cobar to Broken Hill and returning to Hay, all on horseback.
General Lee appreciated the effect of overseas war service on families.
In an embarkation speech he gave to soldiers as State Commandant of Queensland it was reported at the time in the Chronicle and North Coast Advertiser that "he spoke very impressively of the necessity of writing to our homes and loved one, and asked us to remember the anxiety that they would be in during our absence".
"We were to be sure therefore to write home at every opportunity, even only a few lines,to let them know we were well," it said.
In NSW during the later and more strenuous period of the Great War he endeared himself to countless fathers and mothers by his tact and sympathy.
He made it his business to know practically the names of every lad in the training camps, to watch their progress overseas and to welcome their return when, happily, they survived the rigours of warfare.
On his retirement Major General Lee returned to the district and operated two oyster leases at Port Stephens.
