page_title: Reg Rattey
section_title: Victoria Cross
hierarchical_section_title: Reg Rattey / Second World War / Victoria Cross
caption_attribution_description: English: George VI meets Australian VC winners in the United Kingdom.
context_page_description: Reginald Roy Rattey, VC was an Australian recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest award for gallantry "in the face of the enemy" that can be awarded to members of the British or Commonwealth armed forces. He was one of 20 Australians to receive the award for their actions during the Second World War, doing so while serving with the 25th Battalion during the Bougainville Campaign in 1945. After the war, Rattey ran a farm near West Wyalong, New South Wales. He died in 1986 at the age of 67.
context_section_description: On 26 July 1945, Rattey was awarded the Victoria Cross for his actions at Buin Road in South Bougainville on 22 March. The 25th Battalion were ordered to capture a Japanese stronghold following an allied air and artillery attack. After determining that an attack by his section would likely incur many casualties, he single-handedly attacked three Japanese weapons bunkers with his Bren gun. After eliminating one of the bunkers with a grenade, he returned to his section through enemy fire to obtain two more grenades and returned to destroy two more enemy bunkers.
  Shortly after this, his section advanced and encountered further Japanese machine gun fire. Rattey again launched a solo attack on an enemy gun position, killing one, injuring another and causing the remaining gun crew to retreat. The section captured the Japanese machine gun with 2,000 ammunition rounds before advancing further. Two days after this action, Rattey was promoted to sergeant, and the following month his battalion was relieved shortly after holding off a large-scale Japanese attack during the Battle of Slater's Knoll.
caption: Rattey (3rd from left) meets King George VI at the Victory Parade in London, in June1946.
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