REGAN, Ted

Ted Regan was a strong defender who joined Essendon after playing four games with Melbourne in 1938.

He was a class-mate of Melbourne's "Bluey" Truscott at Melbourne High School and played with him at Melbourne before transferring to Essendon.

Regan played his first game in Round 16, 1939, but suffered a serious leg injury the following week which caused him to miss the rest of that season and all of 1940. He resumed his career in Round 8, 1941, and played a few more games before before dropped to the Seconds. He was surprisingly selected as a reserve in the 1941 Grand Final; he came on in the last quarter and kicked a goal but Essendon lost.

He enlisted in the RAAF on 15th August 1941 and rose through the ranks to become a Flight Sergeant. He undertook basic training at Somers in Victoria, then spent most of 1942 training in Rhodesia and Kenya where he qualified as a Bristol Blenheim bomber pilot. He had previously served as a bombardier in the R.A.A. Militia's 2nd Field Survey Regiment for 18 months.

He was killed in action over Burma on 9th July,1943, while serving with the RAAF's 11th Squadron which was based in Feni, India. The terse official report describes the incident: "shot down by ground fire in raid on Ramree, Burma; Sgt G. Regan, Sgt M. Smith, and Sergeant Gordon Rowan (1069929) KIA. Aircraft caught fire and was seen to crash into hill side and explode. Part of six aircraft mission to attack Taungup Road and Taungbongyi. F541: 0930 hrs TO. Did not return. Was seen emitting black smoke. The main plane caught fire broke off and the aircraft crashed into hill side exploding on impact leaving the crew with no chance of survival. Last Blenheim Loss - Squadron re-equipped with Hurricane soon after."

Prior to his enlistment, he had worked as an accountant with British Dominion Films Ltd. for nine years.

Ted Regan has no known grave, and is commemorated at the Singapore Memorial at the Kranji War Memorial in Singapore.