‘Evesdropper’ performed vital WWII work
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By Virginia Lee
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RONALD CAMERON LEE March 18,1925-April 25, 2021
Ronald (Ron) Cameron Lee was born in 1925 in Albury, NSW, the younger son of Charles and Grace Lee. He was educated at CBC Albury, excelling academically and winning a Commonwealth scholarship to study law at Sydney University. However, instead of taking up his place, he joined the air force. It was 1943 and Ron was not yet 18.
Ron was chosen as one of a select group – eventually known as “the eavesdroppers” – which performed vital work in signals intelligence. Their skill in intercepting and decoding Japanese transmissions provided the Allies with much-needed information regarding enemy operations in the south-west Pacific. Their work was so valuable that General Charles Willoughby, Douglas MacArthur’s intelligence chief, stated soon after Japan’s defeat: �