Virtual
War Memorial
Australia

Reginald Norman Ey, nickname, Mick, was the third of five siblings of Ernest George and Effie Mai Ey, born on October 13th, 1913. He had four siblings, Marjorie, Robert, Doris, and Leonard. Mick was born in Monreith, later renamed Toorak Gardens, located 2km east of Central Adelaide. Mick went to an (unnamed?) public school before transferring to King’s College at Kensington Park until he was 17, as seen in Figure 2. His brother, Leonard Charles, can be found in the ‘Old Scholars WWII Honour Roll’ (Archives, n.d)

Ernest George Ey (Mick’s Father) was a partner in the renowned South Australian construction company; Fox, Ey & Thomas (Shep's Place, n.d). He passed away in 1939 after a heart attack. Effie May Ey (maiden name unknown) had little information about her bar her birth, death, and relatives. She was living in St Raphael’s Home for the Aged Blind at Myrtle Bank when she died from smoke inhalation caused by a fire inside the building.

After spending his teenage years in Monreith with his mother and father, Mick found a place to work via an ad in the papers. He joined four elderly men who had decided to start a small tobacco-growing company. Knowing he wanted to work on the land, Mick took up this job at Mt Compass, 60km from Monreith, for a year or two before the owners went bankrupt.

Coming back home, he went to the School of Mines where he did multiple courses including Livestock and wool classing. His parents realising his want to be on the land helped to buy him some property at Coomandook. The property was about two to three thousand acres which he had to clear himself.

“I got started in it… I was there until the outbreak of war… I had cleared about 1700 acres, a pretty hard slogging… [When] I started I was only about 19 and I couldn’t have the property registered in my name so Dad said, “Oh well, leave it until you are 21 and we’ll transfer it to your name,” Dad had a heart attack and he just died… so that left things up in the air [as] it was still in his name.” (Australians at War Film Archive, 2004)

Unable to do anything Mick got out, reverting the property to an estate, and selling all the livestock and plants.

Mick applied to the Air Force with his brother sometime in June/July 1940. On the 10th of December Mick was enlisted and on the 20th, he was sent up to Perth to start his initial training. His service number was 407694 (Virtual War Memorial Australia, n.d)

He did many preparation courses while in Australia including, Navigation school for three months (Mt Gambier), a month bombing course (Mt Gambier), a month gunnery course (Port Pirie), and an Introductory Astro navigation course. “Mount Gambier… that’s where we started nav school. It was a three-month course, pretty intense… so we had to buckle down to it” (Australians at War Film Archive, 2004).

By the time the courses ended, Mick was married to Patricia Florence Ey (maiden name unknown). Despite being married his Next of Kin was still Effie Mai. He got married on the 26-10-1940 He also bought a car, an SM Singer see Figure 4, which he left to his mother when he went overseas.

Mick travelled from Adelaide to Perth, where he embarked on a ship to Rottnest Island. Here, changing to HMS Queen Elizabeth he travelled to Port Taufiq in the Middle East. Ten days later, Mick embarked on another ship to Kisumu, to the 70 Operational Training Unit. They discovered the previous group had not completed training, leading to a three-week wait in Gilgil for the next intake. There, Mick, Harry (pilot), and Johnny Hunt (wireless operator) trained as a crew, practising formations for combat readiness.

After flying at this base for about a week, Mick left for Cairo with Johnny Hunt and a more experienced pilot, Alan (Pommy) Mills, as part of the 14th Squadron. They were there for 8 – 9 days being indoctrinated into desert life and fighting before the team was called up for some Operational flying.

March 16th, they took off in a Mk. IV Bristol Blenheim with eight other similar planes flying in formation. Their job was to fly across the Libyan desert and hit a target in Tripoli. As they were heading back, Pommy realised that the starboard engine of their plane had started to leak oil. No reason is stated as to why this happened but in interviews, the crew guess that they were hit by a stray bullet while flying over German ground troops.

They were stuck some 290-320km inland, behind German lines, with only one functional engine and a plane notorious for ‘flying like a brick’ on one engine. They knew that they had to lose weight so they dropped their bomb load and tried to get as far as possible. About twenty minutes later they were forced to make a wheels-down landing in some rocky outcrops, “She banged and bounced and finally she was on the ground for good ... we skidded along” (Australians at War Film Archive, 2004).

Being in enemy territory, they deemed it useless to stay by the plane, so they removed the aircraft’s P6 compass and looked at what they had: three water bottles, a first aid kit, a tin of peaches and a packet of Army ration biscuits. Over the first two days, they made good progress and managed to walk 65km. They had been posted as missing in action to their families by then.

“The mental strain was worse than anything. You don't realise how vivid your imagination [is]. In the evening we could see our bar in the mess and all the boys around it. Our eyes began to go … and everything became blurred [because of] the glare….” (Anzac Portal, 1944)

On March 26th they were found after walking for 11 days and 255km. They were picked up by the Long-Range Desert Patrol re-supply vehicles from the Royal Dragoons who had been prowling behind German lines. They were all taken back and joined with their squadron before being given a month's special sick leave in Cairo. Mick was only in Cairo for 4 days before he became sick with Enteric Fever (Typhoid).

Six weeks later, Mick was taken out of his squadron and given to the 55th. He was on his sixth operation at the 55th when he was hit with shrapnel and had another two months off strength because his wound wouldn’t heal.

He was then transferred to the 454th, an all-Australian group forming in Iraq. They mainly used Blenheim’s but were changing to Martin Baltimores and that was where Mick ran into an old friend, Paddy Archer. They teamed up and were approached by an adjutant to do a month-long run ferrying an aircraft to India. Returning from that op, they picked back up with the squadron and became fully operational again, doing eighty-seven operations together.

Mick did a total of ninety-three ops as a flying officer (air observer) while in the war. He was active for 1679 days (3yrs 2mnths 26dys) and had 737.40 flying hours. Although it cannot be found anywhere in the relevant sources, his papers state that he was awarded the Order of Australian (A.O) badge. He was also inducted into the ‘Late Arrivals Club’. An exclusive club formed in the Western Desert during the Second World War. It was for Allied Airmen who travelled behind enemy lines for over 48 hours after being shot down or captured and returned to their squadron.

He died on the 19th of February 2006 in Buderim, Queensland, Australia and was buried at the Buderim Crematorium and Memorial Gardens (Family Search, 2024).

Reginald Norman Ey demonstrated the true ANZAC spirit through his bravery and resilience as a pilot officer. During his time behind enemy lines in Cairo, his courage and loyalty were evident. Trekking through the unforgiving desert with two fellow soldiers, Ey's mateship and perseverance shone through.

In a remarkable display of endurance, Ey and his comrades walked 256 kilometres over 11 days, surviving on minimal rations: a tin of peaches, a packet of army biscuits, and a bottle of water each. Despite the severe hardships, the unwavering spirit of Reginald emphasised his strength and dedication.

Ey’s actions were not only a reflection of his courage but also a powerful example of the ANZAC qualities of mateship and self-sacrifice. His perseverance and dedication under adversity inspires and serves as a sad reminder of the sacrifices made by those who served.

Bibliography
Anzac Portal. (1944). Aircrew survived 11-day desert trek to safety. DVA Anzac Portal. Retrieved June 12, 2024, from https://anzacportal.dva.gov.au/stories/australians-wartime/aircrew-survived-11-day-desert-trek-safety

Archives. (n.d). Pembroke Gallery. Adelaide: Pembroke School. Retrieved from https://www.pembroke.sa.edu.au/our-school/archives

Australian Government; Department of Veterans' Affairs. (n.d.). ANZAC Portal - HOME. Retrieved July 26, 2024, from ANZAC Portal: https://anzacportal.dva.gov.au/

Australians at War Film Archive. (2004). Interview with Reginald Norman Ey (Mick). UNSW Canberra. Retrieved June 09, 2024, from https://australiansatwarfilmarchive.unsw.edu.au/archive/1845-reginald-ey?destination=aXRlbXNfcGVyX3BhZ2U9JmtleXdvcmRzPVNPVVRIJTIwQVVTVFJBTElBJm9wPVNlYXJjaCZmb3JtX2J1aWxkX2lkPWZvcm0tRnRNWTQ3eGE0SlBGQnM3TERpd2NUWjcwd0x6ZHpIcldJWWVrdGpERnpxcyZmb3JtX2lkPXNlYX

Family Search. (2024). Reginald Norman Ey (1913 - 2006) - Person - FamilySearch. Retrieved June 15, 2024, from Family Search Website: https://www.familysearch.org/tree/person/details/G2CX-L49

NAA. (n.d). Record Search - Reginald Norman Ey. NAA.gov.au. Retrieved June 11, 2024, from https://recordsearch.naa.gov.au/SearchNRetrieve/Gallery151/dist/JGalleryViewer.aspx?B=5380235&S=16&N=38&R=0#/SearchNRetrieve/NAAMedia/ShowImage.aspx?B=5380235&T=P&S=37

Shep's Place. (n.d). Shep's Place Family Tree. Shep's Place. Retrieved June 11, 2024, from https://shepsplace.net/family/individual.php?pid=I9688&ged=family.ged&tab=0

Trove. (1942). R.A.A.F Casualties. Trove. Retrieved June 11, 2024, from https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/48749838?searchTerm=Reginald%20Norman%20Ey%20RAAF

Virtual War Memorial Australia. (n.d). Ey, Reginald Norman; Virtual Wat Memorial Australia. Retrieved August 16, 2024, from Virtual Wat Memorial Australia website: https://vwma.org.au/