Virtual
War Memorial
Australia

Murdoch Russel (Russ) Regal
Russel’s father, Murdoch Edward Regal, was an adventurer who spent much of his life working for gold mining companies in New South Wales gold mines at various places including the Snowy River district, at Orange and Wellington. Born at Bandella, on the Liverpool Plain, he was one of five children, two sisters and two brothers Albert and Louis. Murdoch left school to work in a mine at Hillgroye, near Armidale. At different times he left mining to go shearing and other work on the land, including dairy farming.
Russel was one of three sons, Clyde and Les and four daughters, including Merle and Gladys. He was the second son, born on the 27th January 1911 at Casino in New South Wales. He was fortunate to survive childhood. As a ten-year-old in 1921 his father, Murdoch after whom he was named, was driving home in his cart at Tyringham in New South Wales. Three of the children met him, clambering on board the load of wood for the return trip. The group met a team that had just unloaded some metal in the cutting, when the horses in the team swerved as they passed, causing Murdoch’s horse to rear and buck over the cutting, turning several times. The 40 feet drop broke the neck of his eldest daughter 14-year-old, Gladys, who died instantly. A subsequent coroner's inquest recorded a verdict of accidental death.
Rusel acted as best man for his brother, Clyde who married Iris Martin in May of 1930. As a 21-year-old, Russel then undertook to establish a dairy with thirty milking Jersey heifers on a leased property at Cedar Point, in the Richmond River district. A local paper, the Farmer and Settler ran a story on about Russel who described himself as ‘a Jersey crank’ but the paper countered with ‘there is nothing eccentric about Mr Russell Regal’. Russel explained that “Having no rich relations, I had to start entirely off my own hard earnings,”. He worked on his own, growing most of the fodder on the place which he then puts through a hand chaffcutter and feeds to the cows in their stalls. In an ambitious plan Russel then purchased a young Jersey bull with a good lineage to subsequently produce worthy stock to build up his Jersey herd.
In April of 1934, Russel became engaged to Edith Thompson who had grown up at Towoomba but was nursing at Cedar Point. The young couple married on the 15th August that year at St. Luke's Church of England, Toowoomba. Russel chose Edith’s brother, Victor as his best man. Their reception was at Edith’s family home before they returned to the farm. In an upsetting claim later that year Russel appeared in the Small Debts Court regarding a horse sold to George Manton, a share farmer at Edenville. With the fee unpaid, Russel later employed George, retaining some of the wages as compensation for the non-payment of the horse. Fortunately, the Court ruled in Russel’s favour.
In June of 1939 Russel’s father, Murdoch died, aged 60 at the Dalby Hospital. He had spent the previous 20 years on a property on the Richmond River but retired from active farm pursuits. As Russel and his brother had both been farming at Dalby for two years their parents had also moved there three months previously because of Murdoch’s health.
Just five months later and with the outbreak of war, Russel enlisted at Toowoomba on the 19th Nov 1939, two months prior to his 29th birthday to become QX1269. He nominated his occupation as a Truck driver, a skill that would be useful. From the wholesome living he had enjoyed conditions were quite a contrast. Early in 1940, Russel initially contracted cystitis in February then flu in April and mumps in September resulting in his hospitalisation before also requiring an Xray of his left hand. Subsequently re-joining transferred to the 2/3rd field ambulance where he became a Grade III Nursing Orderly in June 1940. By October he had run into bureaucracy being in possession of a pair of government issue trousers for which he then had to pay the cost. Within a fortnight he again was in trouble being AWL and was put in detention.
Arriving in the Middle East in March of 1941, Russel suffered scabies so was again treated. In a telling interview on Anzac Day 1978 published in the ‘Daily News’ prior to travelling to Surfers Paradise to meet with some of the surviving Rats, Russell counted himself fortunate to have survived the constant barrage the 9th Division experienced at Tobruk.
“We were bombed by German Stuka dive bombers day in and day out every morning and through the night. You could consider yourself pretty lucky to get out of there unscathed after seeing so many blokes get holes blown in them from the pieces from the bombs. We were dug into sand and had no other form of protection from these bombers. The sand was littered with the shrapnel from the bombs. For eight months Rommel’s army was right around us and we had no way of escape.
He remembered the 9th Division was finally relieved from Tobruk after eight months of knowing you may not wake the next morning. After eight months of this, being fed only bully beef and stew once day, the fellows were starting to get a bit light on. The wells in the area had been filled with dead bodies by the retreating German army. Our water supply was derived from sea water which supposedly had been desalinated, but it still tasted like sea water – we all hated it.
He said the division had been relieved after their historic siege only to be called back to the area where they met with the eighth battalion in the battle of El Alamein.
When the call went out for our assistance in Tobruk again, we were in Northern Europe in cold snowing winter conditions. We travelled in army trucks for five days and six nights before going straight into battle with the other chaps at El Alamein. At Alamein the 9th breached the Axis line for the great forward sweep which was to end in the expulsion of the Nazis from North Africa and the collapse of the Italian Empire. The battle of El Alamein was the most bloody battle of the war. We were involved in hand to hand fighting for 18 days stepping over corpses all the time.
General Moreshead who led the battle said afterwards “apart from the bombing, it was the nearest thing to a battle of 1918 I have known in this war. In his speech of congratulations to the troops who fought at El Alamein Gen Sir Harold R.L. Commander in Chief of the Middle East forces said he did not believe the battalions had ever fought with greater bravery or distinction than in the Western Desert.
Mr Regal said his company was then brought home to Australia before going to North Eastern New guinea. Ross recalled one battle which took 18 days for the 9th to advance five miles through the jungle of Satelberg. It was in this advance Russell saw his last fighting however he nearly didn’t make it. During that Satelberg attack I fell back about three to four hundred yards from where the main fighting was happening. There was a Colonel Major, lieutenant and another sergeant at a position deciding tactics, when an enemy gun started to shoot the position. I was the only survivor out of that. I think God must have been watching over me at that point because there was debris flying everywhere and I was very lucky not to be hit.”
Russel’s record shows the physical and emotional legacy of war. Neck and hip injuries influenced his move from becoming a Grade III Nursing Orderly and working with the2/3 and 2/2 Field Ambulance, before returning to the 2/48th Battalion. He continued to be promoted attaining the title of Sergeant in January of 1944 before finally returned to Australia in 1944. He survived the war to be discharged in absentia on the 14th Jun 1945 at Warwick with the reason for his discharge listed as anxiety state. He was expected to return to ‘normal’ life.
Russsel continued to remember those with whom he served and those who did not return but lay in the Middle East and the jungle of New Guinea and in unnamed resting places.

Aged 77, Russell Died on the 10th Aug 1988 and is buried at Tweed Heads, NSW.
Researched and written by Kaye Lee Daughter of Bryan Holmes 2/48th Battalion with information and images provided by Russel’s great nephew, Darcy Howard of WA who served in the Navy from 1964