Major Thomas Hans Orde-Lees, OBE, AFC (23 May 1877 – 1 December 1958) was a member of Sir Ernest Shackleton's Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition of 1914–1917, a pioneer in the field of parachuting, and was one of the first non-Japanese-born men known to have climbed Mount Fuji during the winter.

On one occasion, he spent over two hours on his bike outside the ship, and Shackleton was sufficiently worried to send a search party to look for him.

[5] Shackleton ordered him not to leave the ship unaccompanied after he became lost while searching for food, and encountered a fierce leopard seal.

His cries brought second in-command Frank Wild out of his tent, who shot the leopard seal at a distance of 10 m (30 ft) from Orde-Lees.

Orde-Lees was assigned to the Dudley Docker under the command of Frank Worsley but failed to pitch in with the other men when a gale threatened to sink the small craft.

Despite orders from Worsley, he climbed into his sleeping bag rather than helping with the rowing, although he immediately undertook strenuous and prolonged bailing duty when it looked as if the boat was going to sink.

[6] Once the boats had arrived at Elephant Island, Shackleton and five men set out for South Georgia in the James Caird to fetch help.

[10][11] He was awarded the Air Force Cross in the 1919 New Year Honours list,[12] and was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) on 10 October.

When Japan entered World War II in 1941, Orde-Lees, as a resident alien and citizen of a hostile power, was allowed to leave with his family; they moved to Wellington, New Zealand.

After the war he wrote a regular children's travel column in the Southern Cross Newspaper and helped organise the Commonwealth Trans-Antarctic Expedition.