Researching Leslie Rees

Rees was educated at Kelham Theological College. He was made deacon at Michaelmas 1942 (20 September) and ordained priest the Michaelmas following (18 September 1943) — both times by John Morgan, Bishop of Llandaff at Llandaff Cathedral. after a brief curacy at St Saviour, Roath, he embarked on a long career as a Prison Chaplain: he was successively Chaplain at Cardiff, Durham, Dartmoor and Winchester. In 1962 he was appointed to the head of the service (Chaplain-General of Prisons), a post he held until his appointment to the episcopate 18 years later. He was also appointed honorary Canon of Canterbury Cathedral in 1966. He was consecrated a bishop on 3 November 1980, by Robert Runcie, Archbishop of Canterbury, at Westminster Abbey. He became a Chaplain of the Order of St John (ChStJ).

In retirement he was an honorary assistant bishop in the Diocese of Winchester, having settled in Alresford, Hampshire. and served as a member of the Parole Board for England and Wales from 1987 to 1990.

Later in retirement he moved to a retirement home at Blackwater, Isle of Wight where he died in July 2013, aged 94.

He attended Perth Modern School and then the University of Western Australia, where he edited the student magazine, Black Swan. He then worked for The West Australian as a journalist before travelling to London to study at University College on a scholarship. It was while there that he married fellow West Australian, Coralie Clarke, who had been a sub-editor during his time on the Black Swan.

Rees returned to Australia in 1936 to become the Australian Broadcasting Commission's first federal drama editor in Sydney. He was also President of PEN (Sydney) for a number of years.

As a writer Rees is best known as a prolific author of children's books as well as written travel books, plays and an autobiography.

He died in Sydney on 17 August 2000.