Arthur Lee was born on 23 September 1909, the son of Ernest K. and Hilda Lee and married Grace Gladys Lee, of Chingford, Essex, in 1935, with whom he had two sons. 

He started out his naval career on ships and then transferred to submarines in the mid-thirties, serving on a number of vessels including HMS UTMOST, under Richard Cayley (q.v.), his Captain in HMS P311.

It was whilst serving in UTMOST that Arthur was awarded the Distinguished Service Medal in 1941, “for courage, enterprise and devotion to duty during successful Submarine patrols“. This was announced in the London Gazette on 29 July 1941 and he was presented with his decoration at an Investiture on 19 May 1942.

He is commemorated on the Portsmouth Naval Memorial, Panel 73, Column 1.