Desmond Ormonde Butler “Des” Beale
Trooper · NZ #41386 / #41586 · R1 Patrol
| Rank | Trooper |
|---|---|
| Service number | NZ #41386 / #41586 |
| Patrol | R1 Patrol |
| Known as | “Des” |
| Record | https://www.aucklandmuseum.com/war-memorial/online-cenotaph/record/122852 |
What this roll records
Deeper background (2026): the NZ war artist Peter McIntyre painted him at Kufra — the watercolour “Trooper Desmond Williams, R Troop, Long Range Desert Group.” He enlisted the Wellington Regiment Feb 1941, served with 22 Battalion, and transferred to the LRDG (R Patrol) in Sep 1942; after the war he managed Puketiti Station on the East Coast, was fluent in te reo Māori and served 21 years on the Waiapu Hospital Board; he died Oct 1997. Source: Peter McIntyre archive, https://www.petermcintyre.co.nz/collection-archive/11122
Patrol R: Cenotaph photo caption "Serving with R Patrol" (record 122852). Verified 27 Jul 2026.
Patrol refined R -> R1: caption "Pte D.O. Beale" in R1 Patrol (truck R3 crew, with Fogden & Whitaker). D.O. = Desmond Ormonde = this man (Desmond Ormonde Butler Beale). Brendan O'Carroll, "The Long Range Desert Group in North Africa".
March 1942 roll (courtesy Tarek el Mahdy): A Sqd R1
New Zealand (A) Squadron, LRDG — R1 Patrol at disbandment, 10 December 1943. Source: Brendan O’Carroll, ‘The Long Range Desert Group in the Aegean’ (Appendix IV, New Zealand (A) Squadron Disbandment Roll, 10 December 1943).
Embarkation detail from his Cenotaph record: he embarked as Private, Infantry Reinforcements, 2NZEF Nominal Roll 4 p. 25. The rank held on this card, Trooper, is the cavalry and armoured-corps name for the same rank, so the two are not in conflict. Source: Auckland War Memorial Museum Online Cenotaph, record 122852.
Rank not found online. Where to look: (1) Auckland War Memorial Museum Online Cenotaph (https://www.aucklandmuseum.com/war-memorial/online-cenotaph/search) - search surname, then match on this service number; the record shows rank as published in the 2NZEF Nominal Roll. (2) Archives NZ WWII personnel file (https://collections.archives.govt.nz) - definitive rank history, request required.
See him in the full roll →Where this comes from
- Additional sources (AWMM Online Cenotaph). Nominal Roll 2NZEF No. 4, p.25.
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Not By Strength But By Guile