Hubert Conway Rees

Hubert Conway Rees (26 March 1882 – 3 January 1948) was a British Army officer. The only son of a Church of England clergyman, Rees was born in Conway, Carnarvonshire. After an education at Charterhouse School in Surrey, Rees joined the 3rd (Militia) Battalion of the East Surrey Regiment in 1900 and served in the Second Boer War. In 1903 he transferred to the regular army, joining the Welsh Regiment as a second lieutenant. By the start of the First World War in 1914 he had risen in rank to captain. Rees served with the regiment's 2nd Battalion during the Retreat from Mons and the First Battle of the Aisne and was awarded the Distinguished Service Order for his actions in assisting a neighbouring battalion during the First Battle of Ypres. Rees was one of the few survivors of his battalion after a 31 October action at Gheluvelt Chateau and assumed command of the unit until January 1915. He afterwards served in Britain at the Royal Military College, Sandhurst and as a divisional staff officer.

Rees was appointed to command the 94th Infantry Brigade on 15 June 1916 and led them in action weeks later on the first day on the Somme. He has been praised for recalling two of his battalions after the initial wave failed to make progress. Later that year Rees commanded the 11th Infantry Brigade and 13th Reserve Brigade. In 1917 he led the 149th (Northumberland) Brigade in the Battle of Arras. In early 1918 Rees took command of the 150th (York and Durham) Brigade. He led them in a defence against the German spring offensive but the brigade was over-run during the Third Battle of the Aisne and Rees was captured. Shortly afterwards he was interviewed by the German Kaiser, Wilhelm II. Rees remained a prisoner for the rest of the war. On his return to Britain he was appointed a Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George. Rees went on to command the 6th battalion of his regiment and serve as a general staff officer before retiring in 1922.

Early life and career Hubert Conway Rees was born on 26 March 1882 at the vicarage in Conway, Wales. He was the only son of Henry Rees, the honorary canon and precentor of the Church of England's Bangor Cathedral, and his wife Harriet Rees. He was promoted to lieutenant on 9 September 1906 and to captain on 12 June 1912.

On 31 October Rees and 600 men of his battalion were at the Gheluvelt Chateau when they came under sustained German attack.

When a new commander was posted Rees requested a transfer to Britain, considering that his position under the new officer would be difficult as he was closely acquainted with the men and had built the unit up almost from nothing after the action at Gheluvelt Chateau. In April Rees was appointed as a staff officer to the 43rd (Wessex) Infantry Division and then, on 21 April, the 38th (Welsh) Infantry Division. Rees commanded the brigade, a New Army unit made up from pals battalions, in its attack on Serre-lès-Puisieux on 1 July 1916, the first day on the Somme.

Rees was appointed to command the 11th Infantry Brigade on 4 July 1916, its commander Charles Bertie Prowse had died of wounds on the first day on the Somme. Rees was promoted to the brevet rank of lieutenant-colonel on 1 January 1917, for his service in the field, and afterwards commanded the 13th Reserve Brigade on the Home Front. In his substantive rank of major he commanded the 6th Battalion of the Welsh Regiment from 3 April to 7 July 1919. Rees was appointed a 2nd grade general staff officer on 11 February 1921. He retired on 22 February 1922, being granted the substantive rank of lieutenant-colonel and the honorary rank of brigadier-general. Rees died on 3 January 1948 at Kyrewood House, Tenbury Wells, Worcestershire.