Rayene Stewart Simpson, (16 February 1926 – 18 October 1978) was an Australian recipient of the

Victoria Cross The Victoria Cross (VC) is the highest and most prestigious award of the British honours system. It is awarded for valour "in the presence of the enemy" to members of the British Armed Forces and may be awarded posthumously. It was previously ...

, the highest award for gallantry "in the face of the enemy" that can be awarded to members of the British and

Commonwealth A commonwealth is a traditional English term for a political community founded for the common good. Historically, it has been synonymous with "republic". The noun "commonwealth", meaning "public welfare, general good or advantage", dates from the ...

armed forces. Simpson received his award for actions in Kon Tum Province,

South Vietnam South Vietnam, officially the Republic of Vietnam ( vi, Việt Nam Cộng hòa), was a state in Southeast Asia that existed from 1955 to 1975, the period when the southern portion of Vietnam was a member of the Western Bloc during part of th ...

on 6 May 1969.

Early life

Rayene Stewart Simpson was born on 16 February 1926 at Redfern in Sydney, the third child of New South Wales-born parents Robert William Simpson, labourer, and his wife Olga Maude, née Montgomery. Olga deserted her husband and children about 1931. Ray was separated from his siblings and placed in the Church of England Home for Boys in Carlingford. Educated at a local school and at Dumaresq Island Public School,

Taree Taree is a town on the Mid North Coast, New South Wales, Australia. Taree and nearby Cundletown were settled in 1831 by William Wynter. Since then Taree has grown to a population of 26,381, and is the centre of a significant agricultural distri ...

, he worked as a labourer.

Military career

Simpson joined the Second Australian Imperial Force on 15 March 1944 and was posted to the 41st/2nd Battalion, a militia battalion that served as a holding unit for soldiers under 19 years of age. With this battalion, he was posted to Cowra as part of the prisoner of war camp garrison which had been reinforced after the

Cowra breakout The Cowra breakout occurred on 5 August 1944, when 1,104 Japanese prisoners of war attempted to escape from a prisoner of war camp near Cowra, in New South Wales, Australia. It was the largest prison escape of World War II, as well as one o ...

on 5 August 1944. He was subsequently posted to the 2/3rd Pioneer Battalion, while subsequent postings included the Advanced Ordnance Depot and the 26th Battalion. During this time he served in Morotai, Tarakan and Rabaul. Demobilized in January 1947, Simpson spent four years working in various jobs in Australia and Papua New Guinea, before re-enlisting in the Army in 1951 to serve in the

Korean War , date = {{Ubl, 25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953 (''de facto'')({{Age in years, months, weeks and days, month1=6, day1=25, year1=1950, month2=7, day2=27, year2=1953), 25 June 1950 – present (''de jure'')({{Age in years, months, weeks a ...

with the

3rd Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment The 3rd Battalion, The Royal Australian Regiment (3 RAR) is a mechanised infantry battalion of the Australian Army, based in Kapyong Lines, Townsville as part of the 3rd Brigade. 3 RAR traces its lineage to 1945 and has seen operational serv ...

. He was promoted to lance corporal on 30 November 1951 and again to corporal on 21 January 1953. He married Shoko Sakai, a Japanese citizen, on 5 March 1952. Simpson was posted to the

2nd Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment The 2nd Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment (2 RAR) is an amphibious light infantry battalion of the Australian Army part of the 1st Division Amphibious Task Group based at Lavarack Barracks in Townsville. 2 RAR was initially formed as the A ...

in January 1954, where he was promoted to

sergeant Sergeant (abbreviated to Sgt. and capitalized when used as a named person's title) is a rank in many uniformed organizations, principally military and policing forces. The alternative spelling, ''serjeant'', is used in The Rifles and other uni ...

in 1955, serving in

Malaya Malaya refers to a number of historical and current political entities related to what is currently Peninsular Malaysia in Southeast Asia: Political entities * British Malaya (1826–1957), a loose collection of the British colony of the Straits ...

from October 1955 for the next two years. He was subsequently posted to 1st Special Air Service Company (SAS) in November 1957 and served with that unit until selected as one of the initial group members of the

Australian Army Training Team Vietnam The Australian Army Training Team Vietnam (AATTV) was a specialist unit of military advisors of the Australian Army that operated during the Vietnam War. Raised in 1962, the unit was formed solely for service as part of Australia's contribution t ...

(AATTV) sent to assist South Vietnamese forces in July 1962. A year later, he returned to the SAS in Australia and served there for the next twelve months. His second tour of duty with AATTV in Vietnam commenced in July 1964, after being promoted to

warrant officer class II A warrant officer (WO) in the British Armed Forces is a member of the highest group of non-commissioned ranks, holding the King's (or Queen's) warrant, which is signed by the Secretary of State for Defence. Warrant officers are not saluted, bec ...

. During his second tour, he was awarded the Distinguished Conduct Medal for his actions when a patrol was ambushed at Tako on 16 September. Simpson, although severely wounded in the leg, held off the enemy while he called for assistance by radio. He and his men repelled several enemy assaults until help arrived, and none too soon as their ammunition was almost gone and Simpson was weak from loss of blood. He was evacuated by helicopter to the 6th Field Hospital at Nha Trang and later convalesced in

Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.468 ...

. On return to Australia, he was posted to the 1st Battalion, Royal New South Wales Regiment (Commando) in Sydney in January 1966. On 16 May 1966, Simpson left the army for a second time, but re-enlisted in

Saigon , population_density_km2 = 4,292 , population_density_metro_km2 = 697.2 , population_demonym = Saigonese , blank_name = GRP (Nominal) , blank_info = 2019 , blank1_name = – Total , blank1_ ...

a year later for his third period of service with the AATTV, during which he was awarded the Victoria Cross. He also received the United States

Silver Star The Silver Star Medal (SSM) is the United States Armed Forces' third-highest military decoration for valor in combat. The Silver Star Medal is awarded primarily to members of the United States Armed Forces for gallantry in action against an e ...

and

Bronze Star The Bronze Star Medal (BSM) is a United States Armed Forces decoration awarded to members of the United States Armed Forces for either heroic achievement, heroic service, meritorious achievement, or meritorious service in a combat zone. Wh ...

for his actions in Vietnam.

Victoria Cross

Simpson was 43 years old, and a warrant officer class II in the AATTV, when he was awarded the Victoria Cross. On 6 May 1969, in Kon Tum Province, Simpson rescued a wounded fellow warrant officer and carried out an unsuccessful attack on a strong enemy position. On 11 May he fought alone against heavy odds to cover the evacuation of a number of casualties. Simpson was presented his Victoria Cross from Queen

Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until her death in 2022. She was queen regnant of 32 sovereign states during ...

, at Government House in Sydney on 1 May 1970.

Victoria Cross citation

The citation in the Commonwealth of Australia Gazette of 28 August 1969, which announced Simpson's award reads:

Later life

Simpson took his final discharge from the army in May 1970. In 1972 he took up a position as administrative officer at the Australian Embassy in Tokyo. He died of cancer in Tokyo on 18 October 1978 and was buried at the

Yokohama War Cemetery Yokohama War Cemetery is a military cemetery in Hodogaya-ku, Yokohama, in Japan and located next to Yokohama Municipal Children's Botanical Garden. The burial grounds consists of four sections surrounded by mature trees in a park like setting: ...

, Japan.Casualty Details – Simpson, Rayene Stewart

Commonwealth War Graves Commission The Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC) is an intergovernmental organisation of six independent member states whose principal function is to mark, record and maintain the graves and places of commemoration of Commonwealth of Nations mil ...

His Victoria Cross and portrait are displayed at the

Australian War Memorial The Australian War Memorial is Australia's national memorial to the members of its armed forces and supporting organisations who have died or participated in wars involving the Commonwealth of Australia and some conflicts involving pe ...

Canberra Canberra ( ) is the capital city of Australia. Founded following the federation of the colonies of Australia as the seat of government for the new nation, it is Australia's largest inland city and the eighth-largest city overall. The ci ...

Notes

References

External links

WOII R.S. SIMPSON, VC, DCM
''(biography plus detailed action account)'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Simpson, Rayene Stewart 1926 births 1978 deaths Military personnel from New South Wales Australian Army soldiers Australian military personnel of the Korean War Australian military personnel of the Malayan Emergency Australian military personnel of the Vietnam War Australian Army personnel of World War II Australian recipients of the Victoria Cross People from Sydney Australian recipients of the Distinguished Conduct Medal Foreign recipients of the Silver Star Vietnam War recipients of the Victoria Cross Deaths from cancer in Japan