Lee was born in
Putney the son of a
London architect. Known as Horace by his family. Following his education at
Bradfield College he studied electrical engineering in
Kensington. He served with the
Royal Buckinghamshire Hussars during the
Boer War, and on his return to England he moved to
Coventry to finish his engineering training with the
Daimler Company. In 1903, Lee left Daimler convinced that his future lay, not in electrical engineering, but in the development of the
internal combustion engine. That year he, in partnership with Jens Stroyer, a
Dane, founded the
Lee Stroyer company in
Coventry, producing
petrol engines, and a limited number of
cars. Following the departure of Stroyer in 1905 Lee relocated and renamed the company
Coventry Simplex. The company continued the production of engines which were used in many early cars including the
Abbey, the
Ashton-Evans, the
Crouch 11/27 and
Marendaz cars. In 1917, Lee's engine company became
Coventry Climax Engines, a company which, in the 1960s, produced championship
Formula One and
Two racing engines. By the late 1930s, Lee had passed the running of Coventry Climax to his son,
Leonard Pelham Lee. ==References==