Brigadier General Sir Raymond Lionel Leane, CB, CMG, DSO & Bar, MC, VD, JP (12 July 1878 – 25 June 1962) was an Australian Army officer who rose to command the 48th Battalion then 12th Brigade during World War I.

A businessman and part-time Citizen Forces officer before the war, Leane was commissioned into the AIF and led a company of the 11th Infantry Battalion at the landing at Anzac Cove, Gallipoli, on 25 April 1915.

He rose to temporarily command his battalion, and was made a Companion of the Distinguished Service Order (DSO), awarded the Military Cross, twice mentioned in despatches and wounded three times during the Gallipoli campaign.

After returning to Egypt, the AIF was re-organised, and Leane was appointed as the commanding officer of the newly formed 48th Battalion, which soon after was transported to the Western Front in France and Belgium.

After recuperating, in early 1918 he returned to his battalion and led it during the German spring offensive of March and April 1918, which included heavy fighting near Dernancourt, for which he was again mentioned in despatches.

In June 1918 he was promoted to colonel and temporary brigadier general to command the 12th Brigade, which he led during the Battle of Amiens in August, and the fighting to capture the Hindenburg Outpost Line in September.

He was mentioned in despatches a further two times after the conclusion of the war, and in early 1919 was also awarded the French Croix de guerre, and made a Companion of the Order of the Bath for his "gallant and able" leadership while commanding the 12th Brigade.

After the outbreak of World War II, despite being on the retired list, Leane became the state commander of the Returned and Services League-organised Volunteer Defence Corps, a form of home guard, in addition to his duties as commissioner.

[1] On 25 August 1914, Leane joined the newly formed Australian Imperial Force (AIF) as a company commander in the Western Australia-raised 11th Infantry Battalion of the 3rd Brigade, with the rank of captain.

The attack was prompted by a desire to give the Ottomans the impression that an attempt was going to be made to break out of the Anzac perimeter to the south, while a landing was planned at Suvla Bay far to the north.

[3] As the Official Australian War Historian Charles Bean observed, his "tall square-shouldered frame, immense jaw, tightly compressed lips, and keen, steady, humorous eyes made him the very figure of a soldier".

[3] Throughout March and April 1916, the battalion undertook training in the desert before being moved to Habieta in early May where they briefly manned defensive positions as a precaution against a possible Ottoman attack on the Suez Canal.

This officer displayed extreme courage when in command of his battalion during the attack at Bullecourt on 10 April 1917 and in the Messines battle on 7 June 1917 he handled his men with great skill and success.

That night and the next two days passed relatively quietly, with Leane rotating his companies through the front line posts, with characteristic care not to create congestion in the forward areas.

[20][80] For his "considerable skill and ability" while acting brigade commander, Leane was recommended for the award of the French Croix de Guerre, and was mentioned in despatches for the sixth time.

[84] After a rest in reserve positions, the 12th Brigade was then in the forefront of the attack on the Hindenburg Outpost Line on 18 September, with the 48th Battalion leading the assault in the first phase, followed by the 45th which captured the second objective.

After the war had ended, Leane acted as the commander of the 4th Division for a month, took some leave, was mentioned in despatches for the seventh time, and was also awarded the French Croix de Guerre.

In the latter period his brigade made a brilliant advance and captured the Hindenburg Outpost Line north of St. Quentin with over 1,200 prisoners and many guns, and though enfiladed from the south, held this most important position in spite of very considerable hostile opposition and counter-measures.

[101] In July 1920, Leane was appointed to command the part-time 19th Infantry Brigade, which encompassed the metropolitan area of Adelaide and the south-east districts of South Australia, and was part of the peacetime military structure.

[105] It was determined that there was a prima facie case against the defendant, and the matter was scheduled for trial in the Supreme Court in October, but the jury was unable to come to a verdict and were dismissed.

[113][114][115] In 1926–1927, a Royal Commission into bribery of members of the police by bookmakers was conducted, finding that it was probable that two detectives and several plainclothes constables were guilty of taking bribes.

[122] In September 1928, Leane provided police protection to non-union strikebreakers brought in to work on the Port Adelaide wharves to circumvent a dispute over the industrial award that covered the waterfront.

But Leane, his inspectors and about 150 mounted and foot police immediately set into motion plans to first break up the mass of the crowd among the buildings, then cordon off a significant portion of it in an open allotment.

[127] Over the following weekend, some 1,000 volunteers were sworn in as part of the Citizens' Defence Brigade, a force of special constables raised at Leane's request to augment the police in dealing with the waterfront dispute.

[136] In 1931, The Mail newspaper published a glowing article on Leane's eleven years as commissioner, praising the discipline and efficiency he had brought to the force, and describing him as a "true fighter" and "humane leader", who "never asks a man to do what he would not do himself".

[144] In 1936, a biographical sketch of Leane mentioned that he was a justice of the peace, had been president of the Commonwealth Club in Adelaide, was the chairman of the South Australian branch of the Institute of Public Administration, and had been awarded the King George V Silver Jubilee Medal the previous year.

[151] In the same year, after the outbreak of World War II, Leane advocated for the introduction of radio communications into the police,[152] stressing the need for quick response in cases of civil emergency.

[153] On 18 June 1940, Leane was appointed as the commander of the Returned and Services League-organised Volunteer Defence Corps (VDC) in South Australia, an organisation similar to the Home Guard in the United Kingdom.

[3][168] His son Geoffrey was originally a mounted policeman then a detective, was a lieutenant colonel and twice mentioned in despatches during World War II, later became a police inspector, and was deputy commissioner from 1959 to 1972.

The Premier of South Australia, Sir Thomas Playford, said that Leane "had been one of the great generals of World War I, and had also served with conspicuous ability as police commissioner for many years".