Lieutenant Colonel Maurice Wilder-Neligan, (born Maurice Neligan; 4 October 1882 – 10 January 1923), was an Australian soldier who commanded the South Australian-raised 10th Battalion during the latter stages of World War I. Raised and educated in the United Kingdom, he was briefly a soldier with the Royal Horse Artillery in London, after which he travelled to Australia where he worked in Queensland. He enlisted as a private in the Australian Imperial Force (AIF) on 20 August 1914 at Townsville, under the name Maurice Wilder, giving Auckland, New Zealand, as his place of birth. A sergeant in the 9th Battalion by the time of the Gallipoli landings of April 1915, he was awarded the Distinguished Conduct Medal, the second highest award for acts of gallantry by other ranks. He was quickly commissioned, reaching the rank of temporary captain before the end of the Gallipoli campaign. During his time at Gallipoli he was wounded once, and formally changed his name to Wilder-Neligan.
Arriving on the Western Front with the substantive rank of captain, he led a "most brilliant" raid on German trenches near Fleurbaix, and although severely wounded in the head, stuck to his command until the operation was successfully completed. For his actions he was appointed a Companion of the Distinguished Service Order (DSO), the second highest award for gallantry by officers. When he returned from hospital, he was promoted to major, and was in temporary command of his battalion during the Second Battle of Bullecourt in May 1917. In July, he was promoted to lieutenant colonel and appointed to command the 10th Battalion. He led that unit during the Battle of the Menin Road Ridge in September and was appointed a Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George in June 1918. Perhaps his greatest achievement was the capture of Merris in July, for which he was awarded a bar to his DSO, again for gallantry. He continued to skilfully lead his battalion throughout the Hundred Days Offensive and up to the Armistice of 11 November. During the war, in addition to decorations already mentioned, he was awarded the French and was mentioned in despatches five times.
After the war, he worked as a district officer in the Australian-administered Territory of New Guinea, where he died at the age of 40, probably of complications from his war wounds. He was buried on Garua Island, New Britain. Considered by many to be rather eccentric, he was also a successful tactician, a skilful organiser, and highly regarded for his treatment of the soldiers under his command.
Early life Born Maurice Neligan in Tavistock, Devon, England, on 4 October 1882, he was a son of Canon John West Neligan and his wife Charlotte, Putland. His elder brother, the Right Reverend Moore Neligan, was the Anglican Bishop of Auckland, New Zealand, from 1903 to 1910. Maurice attended Queen Elizabeth's Grammar School, Ipswich, and Bedford Grammar School.
On 18 February 1905, he was married to a divorcee, Frances Jane Wyatt, in London. In 1908, he was brought before the courts in bankruptcy proceedings, owing some £5,500. During the hearing he stated that he had been at sea during the period 1898–1902, and had not been working since he returned, although he had visited Ceylon late the previous year looking for work. He and his wife had one daughter.
He was enlisted in the Royal Horse Artillery in September 1910, having lowered his age and given Auckland as his place of birth. He served as a soldier for a year before leaving his wife and child at their Park Lane home in London and travelling to Sydney, Australia. In the remaining years before the outbreak of World War I he worked as a clerk at a sugar mill weighbridge in Proserpine, Queensland, and also lived at Kelly's Club Hotel in Brandon, where he formed a close connection to the publican's family.
World War I Neligan was enlisted in the Australian Imperial Force (AIF) on 20 August 1914 at Townsville, Queensland, under the name Maurice Wilder, again giving Auckland as his place of birth. The AIF was established as Australia's expeditionary force to fight in the war, as the Citizens' Forces were restricted to home defence per the Defence Act (1903). He had first attempted to enlist under his true name and age, and had told the clerk he was married with a child. When told that younger unmarried men were volunteering in great numbers, and that his services would not be required, he merely joined a queue in front of a different clerk, gave the name Wilder and claimed he was a bachelor. With the rank of private he was allotted to the Queensland-raised 9th Battalion of the 3rd Brigade, which was part of the 1st Division, and was given the regimental number 974.
Within three weeks he had been promoted to lance corporal, and by late September was a corporal. The battalion embarked for overseas the following month and sailed via Albany, Western Australia, to Egypt on the Themistocles, arriving in early December. On 1 January 1915, Wilder was promoted to sergeant, and he was posted as the battalion orderly room sergeant.
Gallipoli campaign
After completing training, the 3rd Brigade was designated as the covering force for the landing at Anzac Cove, Gallipoli, on 25 April 1915, and so was the first brigade ashore about 4:30am. By 9:00am, Wilder was performing the role of battalion adjutant, assisting the acting commanding officer to organise and direct the unit. The day after the landing, Wilder's actions resulted in the award of the Distinguished Conduct Medal, the second highest award for acts of gallantry by other ranks. The citation read:
Owing to officer casualties, he was commissioned as a second lieutenant three days after the landing. Along with the rest of the 3rd Brigade, the 9th Battalion was closely engaged in establishing and defending the Anzac beachhead during the ensuing months, rotating between the various posts and trenches.
During the heavy Turkish counter-attack of 19 May, Wilder showed "capacity to command at a difficult moment". On the night of 27 May, he commanded a raid by 63 soldiers of the battalion on a Turkish position south of the Anzac perimeter near Gaba Tepe. The destroyer used its searchlight to pinpoint the trench to be attacked, then pounded it with twenty rounds of high explosive and shrapnel from its guns. Wilder then led his force quickly up the hill towards the Turkish position, and using only the bayonet, they killed six, captured one, and returned to the Australian lines without suffering casualties. According to his biographer, Alec Hill, the success of the raid was ensured by his meticulous planning. He was wounded in early June and evacuated to Egypt, but discharged himself from hospital and returned to his unit by early August, when he was promoted to lieutenant. In the same month, he was mentioned in despatches for the first time.
In mid-September he was formally appointed as unit adjutant, swiftly followed by a temporary promotion to captain. He formally changed his name to Wilder-Neligan in October, and remained at Anzac until November, after which the battalion was evacuated to Egypt. During its time in Egypt, the 9th Battalion was stationed for a period on the front line in the desert near the Suez Canal. On one occasion, an Ottoman patrol was seen, and the adventurous Wilder-Neligan asked to be allowed to take out a patrol on camels to cut them off. With certain restrictions, this was permitted, but no contact with the enemy occurred. In March 1916, he relinquished his post of adjutant, and was substantively promoted to captain before the battalion left Alexandria for France and the Western Front at the end of the month.
Western Front 9th Battalion Soon after his unit reached the trenches in France, he planned a major raid near Fleurbaix, carefully preparing his men before launching it on the night of 1/2 July. This was a "silent" raid, being undertaken without a preparatory bombardment of the targeted German trenches. Wilder-Neligan split his 148 troops into three groups, and directed them to enter the German trenches about apart to avoid German enfilading fire. He trained his raiding party and conducted rehearsals in the days leading up to the operation. On the night of the raid, Wilder-Neligan used machine gun fire to cover the sound of his troops advancing across no man's land. When they were close, he called down a protective barrage behind the German trenches, with machine guns sweeping the enemy flanks. The raiders then rushed forward, entered the enemy trenches and engaging in heavy fighting. During the final rush, Wilder-Neligan came across a German observation post in advance of the enemy trenches. He killed two of the three enemy soldiers occupying it, but the third threw a hand grenade that wounded him severely in the shoulder and in the head, fracturing his skull. Despite his wounds, he continued to direct his men until they had all returned safely. During the raid, the Queenslanders killed 14 Germans, wounded 40, and captured 25 more along with a machine gun, for the loss of seven dead and 26 wounded. The Australian Official War Historian, Charles Bean, described this action as "perhaps the most brilliant raid that Australians undertook" at the time. The success of the operation was recognised by Wilder-Neligan's appointment as a Companion of the Distinguished Service Order, the second highest award for acts of gallantry by officers. The citation read:
Evacuated to the United Kingdom for treatment, he did not return to his unit until October, when he was promoted to major. In November he was again mentioned in despatches for "distinguished and gallant services and devotion to duty in the field". The 9th Battalion continued to take its turn at the front line through the worst European winter in 40 years. On 24 February, Wilder-Neligan was training his troops for another raid in force, this time on the German position known as "The Maze", south of the village of Le Barque, when it was discovered that the Germans were withdrawing from the front line. Along with the rest of the 3rd Brigade, the 9th Battalion was soon advancing towards the village, striking isolated pockets of resistance. After this, the battalion followed up the Germans as they withdrew towards the multi-layered Hindenburg Line of fortifications. In mid-April, parts of the 9th Battalion were in the thick of the fighting against a major German counter-attack at Lagnicourt.
Wilder-Neligan was in temporary command of his battalion during the Second Battle of Bullecourt in May 1917, part of the Battle of Arras. For the attack on the German trenches known as O.G. 1 and O.G. 2, the 9th Battalion was placed under the command of the 1st Brigade. Before the attack, he arranged for his men to create dumps of barbed wire, stakes, hand grenades and other equipment and tools near to the battalion assembly point for the attack. He ensured that telephone lines were laid as far forward as possible, then briefed his company commanders and supporting units. Fierce bomb fights occurred in both objective trenches as soon as the 9th Battalion attacked, but the Queenslanders gradually pushed the Germans back. A heavy German barrage then fell on the captured trenches. During the battle, the unit suffered 160 casualties, mainly from bombs. For his actions at Bullecourt, Wilder-Neligan was recommended for the Belgian Order of the Crown, although there is no record of an appointment to the order. For other brief periods in the first half of 1917 he was acting commanding officer of the 9th Battalion.
On 23 June 1917, he was temporarily placed in command of his battalion's South Australian-raised sister unit of the 3rd Brigade, the 10th Battalion. After briefly returning to his old unit on 6 July, he took command of the 10th Battalion with the rank of lieutenant colonel on 15 July. This was considered a surprising promotion, as at the time he was junior to forty majors then in the AIF.