General news
28 March, 2025
Remembering Reginald Rattey
80th Anniversary of Reginald ‘Reg’ Rattey’s Victoria Cross and the Bougainville Campaign
ON MARCH 22, 2025, the 80th anniversary of a defining moment in Australian military history occurred – the bravery of Reginald ‘Reg’ Rattey, who was awarded the Victoria Cross for his actions on this day in 1945 during the Pacific War.
A native of the Wyalong district (Barmedman) in the Bland Shire of New South Wales, Reg Rattey’s heroic deeds on Bougainville during the final stages of World War II stand as a testament to Australian courage, service, and sacrifice. On March 22, 1945, just days before his 28th birthday, Rattey’s battalion was pinned down by heavy enemy fire from Japanese machine gunners. With his comrades suffering heavy casualties and unable to advance, Rattey took matters into his own hands. Armed with a Bren gun and a grenade, he charged the enemy position, silencing the gunners and enabling his battalion to capture a Japanese machine gun and over 2,000 rounds of ammunition.
For his extraordinary bravery under intense enemy fire, Reg Rattey was awarded the Victoria Cross, the highest military decoration for valor. His actions on that fateful day are etched in history as a prime example of selflessness and leadership in the face of overwhelming adversity.
Born on March 28, 1918, in Barmedman, near the end of World War I, Rattey grew up in the rural district of Wyalong. Prior to the war, he worked on his family’s farm and as a miner, while also serving in the local militia. As WWII intensified, Rattey enlisted in the Australian Imperial Force (AIF) in 1942. By September 1943, he was sent to New Guinea, where he earned a promotion to acting corporal, and eventually confirmed as a corporal by April 1944.
In November 1944, Rattey and his battalion landed on Bougainville, a critical island in the Pacific campaign that had been under Japanese control since 1942. The campaign to reclaim Bougainville was one of the final, grueling battles of the Pacific War, with Australian, Fijian, and New Zealand forces engaging in slow but relentless combat against entrenched Japanese positions. The Australian forces saw bitter fighting, particularly at Slater’s Knoll, near the Puriata River, in March 1945. It was during this intense fighting that Rattey displayed his bravery, ultimately earning the Victoria Cross in recognition of his exceptional courage.
In late March 1945, Rattey’s leadership and bravery earned him a promotion to acting sergeant. However, towards the end of the Pacific War, he contracted malaria and was sent to hospital. Rattey returned to Australia in October 1945 and was discharged on compassionate grounds.
Reg Rattey passed away in 1986, but his legacy as one of the 102 Australians awarded the Victoria Cross remains strong. This year marks not only the 80th anniversary of his remarkable act of bravery but also the anniversary of Japan’s surrender on August 15, 1945, bringing an end to World War II in the Pacific.
The Bougainville campaign itself was a crucial part of the broader Pacific War effort. Australian forces, along with the Americans and Allied nations, fought to contain and ultimately defeat the Japanese occupying forces. With over 30,000 Australians serving in Bougainville and more than 500 killed, the campaign was a pivotal moment in securing victory in the Pacific. The Japanese forces had invaded Bougainville in 1942, but it wasn’t until 1943 that Allied forces, including Australian and New Zealand troops, began to regain control. By August 1945, the island was liberated.
For many, the 80th anniversary is a time to reflect on the bravery and sacrifices made by soldiers like Reg Rattey, whose actions in the Bougainville campaign remain an inspiring chapter in Australian military history.
As Australia remembers the sacrifices of its service men and women during the Pacific War, the story of Reg Rattey continues to resonate, a reminder of the courage and determination that shaped the nation's path to victory in World War II.
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