Dedicated to the late Neal McCormack, James Lee’s great-nephew, on whose research this story is based.

James was born in 1895 in the family cottage at 1 Blackleg Row, Charlestown near Newcastle and attended the local Charlestown Public School.

James was the youngest of seven siblings:

Following the death of their father in 1905 and the death of their mother in 1906, James came to live with his eldest sister, Nan Hetherington (born Harriet Hannah Lee), at 45 Victoria Street, Carrington. He was then eleven years of age and attended Carrington Public School.

Physically, James was of slight build with fair hair, blue eyes and a fair to sallow complexion – characteristics similar to many in the Lee family.

James wanted to be a mine surveyor but owing to his family circumstances, he did not achieve his objective. He worked instead as a stable hand at the Newcastle and Suburban Co-operative Society (The Store) in the grocery delivery section. James also served as a member of the 16th Infantry Battalion of the Citizens Military Forces at Newcastle.

On 5 August 1915, James enlisted in Newcastle adding a year to his age claiming to be 21 years and 4 months. He was allocated to the 2nd Battalion and underwent some months of training before leaving Sydney in March 1916. On arrival in Egypt, Private James Lee was taken on strength with the 54th Battalion on 20 April 1916.

Family members have treasured four old and fading letters, some only partially intact, written in pencil on tattered YMCA and other notepaper from the war zones. Two of the letters were written from Egypt most likely to Jim’s sister, Maude McCormack (1891-1945), who was by then married with one son, the little Harry (born 1914) mentioned in the first of the letters transcribed below. Original spelling and expression are retained where possible but minor grammar changes have been made to improve readability. He was Jim to the family.

Pte James Lee’s letter from Egypt dated 30 April 1916 to his sister, Maude and her husband, Jim:

The following is page 2 of an undated partial letter that Jim wrote from Egypt to his sister (note the Jim who is asked to write and the PS to Alex refer to his brothers-in-law, Jim McCormack and Alex Hetherington):

Jim’s guess that they were about to be moved on was right and the 54th Battalion left for France in June from where he wrote again shortly after arrival. At the time of writing this letter, the Battalion’s war diaries show that Jim and his comrades were being billeted in barns, stables and private houses around the Fleurbaix area for a week of training including use of gas masks and exposure to the effects of the artillery shelling.

This is another partial letter from Jim, this time from France and dated 4 July 1916:

It was about two weeks after this letter that the 54th Battalion began its first major battle at Fromelles at 5.50pm on 19 July. The general consensus was that their initiation on the Western Front was disastrous suffering casualties well over half its fighting strength. After the battle, the 54th was pulled back to Bac-St-Maur by 7.30am on 20 July 1916 and Private Jim Lee was soon added to the long list of those missing whose fate was unknown.

Details of exactly how and where 21-year-old Jim Lee was killed were never clarified. There are a number of conflicting reports in the Red Cross files but it is clear that there was confusion due to there being two men in the 54th Battalion by the name of James Lee, both about 20 to 21 years of age, both from the Hunter Valley and both killed that same night at Fromelles. Our James Lee (service number 4822) was given the nickname of “Snowy” because of his blonde hair and to differentiate him from the other James Lee from Merriwa (service number 4533) to whom they gave the nickname of “Jesse” after the famous American outlaw, Jesse James – possibly also a play on his initials (J. J.) as his middle name was Joseph. The story of James Joseph Lee and his cousin William Henry Turner are also on our website.

Research conducted by Jim’s great-nephew, Neal McCormack, led him to conclude that “Snowy” Lee was killed in an artillery bombardment at the ‘take’-off’ point for the attack but further research shows three possible sightings of him in the German trenches. These sightings may however relate to Pte “Jesse” James rather than “Snowy”.

There is also a letter from a fellow soldier, Private John Dean 4766, who had been with Jim “Snowy” Lee from enlistment throughout their time in training in Australia and in Egypt and France. Jack, as he signed his letter, was responding to questions from Jim’s sister Maude McCormack about the fate of her youngest brother. Jack himself had been severely wounded at Fromelles (he described it in understated terms as “I had a knocking about”) and was writing from a London hospital whilst undergoing medical treatment before his eventual return to Australia in 1917. Extracts from the letter dated 6 February 1917 are included below with spelling and grammar transcribed largely as written:

Noting Jack’s response to Maude’s query about a letter dated 20 July (possibly to Hannah), it seems the letter’s date was a source of hope for the family that Jim survived that dreadful night of the 19th to write on the 20th. Jack’s response put paid to that desperate hope.

He finished his letter with news of his brothers and promising to explain more plainly when he got home. He went on to ask about the family and commented that he supposed they were “broken up about Jim.”

As next of kin, Hannah Hetherington was advised in August 1916 that her youngest brother was missing. It was not until more than a year later in September 1917 that Hannah was formally advised the outcome of the court of enquiry that Jim had been killed in action on that fateful night in July 1916, aged just 21 years.

On Jim’s AIF file, there is a letter written by Hannah where she states that she had sole care of him since their parents died:

Despite considering herself a foster mother, Hannah was denied a pension as she had a husband to support her and was also not eligible for any land grants arising from her brother’s war service.

Jim’s personal effects – his identity disc, two scarves and his soldier’s housewife (sewing kit) – were eventually returned to Hannah. She also received his military service medals (British War Medal and Victory Medal) and, in 1923, his memorial plaque and scroll – although these latter items were only issued “under bond”. This meant that Hannah’s older brother Ben had a prior claim to these under the regulations of the day that generally gave male relatives precedence over females; if Ben should later make a claim to the memorial plaque and scroll, Hannah could be required to surrender them. At the time of the correspondence, Hannah had no contact details for Ben.

For many years, Neal McCormack had researched his great-uncle’s war service and, in 2011, had provided information and photographs to the Hunter Region’s military historian, David Dial. As a result, a newspaper story appeared in the Newcastle Herald (23 April 2011) that included James’ photo and his story. After reading this article, Hannah’s granddaughter (daughter of Hannah’s adopted daughter, Zena) made contact with Neal (grandson of Maude). They arranged to meet and she was able to show Neal the original Victory medal (one of the military service medals awarded to James) as well as the certificate and scroll for the memorial plaque. Unfortunately, the location of the plaque itself (known as the Dead Man’s Penny) is unknown.

Neal McCormack was also proactive in tracing the descendants of the Lee family for DNA purposes and supplying information to the Fromelles Project Group in the Australian Army Unrecovered War Casualties unit. Despite willing DNA donors offering samples for both the male and female lines, no identification has been made.