Leslie Cecil Maygar
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Leslie Cecil Maygar VC, DSO, VD (1872 - 1917) was an Australian recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces, for service in the Second Boer War.
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[edit] Early life
Maygar was born on 26 May 1872 at Dean Station, Kilmore, Victoria.
[edit] Military service
He was 29 years old, and a lieutenant in the 5th Victorian Mounted Rifles, Australian Forces during the Boer War when the following deed took place for which he was awarded the VC.
On 23 November 1901 at Geelhoutboom, Natal, South Africa, Lieutenant Maygar galloped out and ordered men of a detached post, which was being outflanked, to retire. The horse of one of the men was shot under him when the enemy were within 200 yards and Lieutenant Maygar dismounted and lifted the man on to his own horse which bolted into boggy ground, making them both dismount. As the horse could not carry two, the lieutenant again put the man on its back and told him to gallop for cover at once, while he himself went on foot. All this took place under very heavy fire.
Maygar later served in World War I as a Lieutenant Colonel, where he received his Distinguished Service Order and was Mentioned In Dispatches twice.
Leslie Cecil Maygar was killed in action during in Karm, Palestine, on 17 November 1917. He is buried in the Beersheba War Cemetery, Israel. His Victoria Cross is displayed at the Australian War Memorial, Canberra, Australia.
[edit] References
- Monuments to Courage (David Harvey, 1999)
- The Register of the Victoria Cross (This England, 1997)
- Victoria Crosses of the Anglo-Boer War (Ian Uys, 2000)
