Leslie Cecil Maygar
| Leslie Cecil Maygar | |
|---|---|
Lieutenant Leslie Maygar c. 1903
|
|
| Nickname(s) | "Elsie" |
| Born |
27 May 1868 Kilmore, Australia |
| Died | 1 November 1917 (aged 49) Karm, Palestine |
| Buried at | Beersheba War Cemetery |
| Allegiance | Australia |
| Service/branch | Australian Army |
| Years of service | 1891–1917 |
| Rank | Lieutenant Colonel |
| Commands held | 8th Light Horse Regiment (1915–17) |
| Battles/wars |
Second Boer War |
| Awards |
Victoria Cross Distinguished Service Order Mentioned in Despatches (4) Volunteer Officers' Decoration |
Second Boer War
First World War
Leslie Cecil Maygar, VC, DSO, VD (27 May 1868 – 1 November 1917) was an Australian recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces. He was awarded the VC for facilitating the rescue of a dismounted man while under severe rifle fire in 1902 during the Second Boer War. He later served at Gallipoli during the First World War, and died of wounds received at the Battle of Beersheba during the Sinai and Palestine Campaign.
Maygar was born on 27 May 1868, at Dean Station, near Kilmore, Victoria. The seventh child of Edwin Willis and Helen Maygar (née Grimshaw), his full name was Edgar Leslie Cecil Willis Walker Maygar. Both of his parents were originally from Bristol, England, although his father's family were originally political refugees from Hungary. Educated at state schools in Kilmore and Alexandria, his family moved north to the Strathbogie Ranges region of Ruffy when he was about 20 years old, where he worked on his father's property. In March 1891 he enlisted in the Victorian Mounted Rifles.
Following the outbreak of the Second Boer War, Maygar unsuccessfully attempted to volunteer for active service on several occasions with the first and second contingents of the Victorian Mounted Rifles that were departing for South Africa, but was prevented from doing so due to a decaying tooth. He was later accepted into the fifth contingent and was promoted to the rank of lieutenant. He arrived in Cape Town in March 1901. Maygar's unit was constantly in action for the next 12 months, seeing service north of Middelburg, East Transvaal, then at Rhenoster Kop, Klippan, Kornfontein and Drivelfontein, before being transferred to Natal in August.
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