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The following is an archived discussion of a featured article nomination. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the article's talk page or in Wikipedia talk:Featured article candidates. No further edits should be made to this page.

The article was promoted by Sarastro1 via FACBot (talk) 21:39, 11 October 2017 [1].

Maurice Wilder-Neligan

[edit]
Nominator(s): Peacemaker67 (click to talk to me) 00:21, 9 August 2017 (UTC)[reply]

This article is about an English-born Australian Army soldier of WWI who rose from the rank of private to command a battalion during the latter stages of the war. A superior tactician, one of his attacks was described as "the best show ever done by a battalion in France". He was also an eccentric character, once chasing his officers off a parade ground on horseback to show his displeasure with their efforts at drill. An administrator in New Guinea after the war, he died there, probably caused by wounds he received during the war. Peacemaker67 (click to talk to me) 00:21, 9 August 2017 (UTC)[reply]

Image review

Source review

  • Why are we linking Bean's name (and the Official History) in the fourth book listed instead of the first?
  • Fixed.
  • Why is "Bar" still being capitalised?
  • That is what the DSO1 syntax does in the postnominals template, so I'm just being consistent with that.
  • In the photograph where you say "Portrait of Wilder-Neligan while he was commanding the 10th Battalion", he is only a second lieutenant, and is wearing the patch of the 9th Battalion (black over light blue).
  • No, I don't think so. The AWM page for the image refers to him being CO 10th Bn, and it looks like a pip and a crown to me behind the Australia shoulder title. Also, the 10th Bn patch was purple over light blue, and this is a black and white photograph, so it could easily be the 10th Bn patch. He's also wearing two ribbons in the photograph, which, given the timing of his awards, must be the DSO and DCM, indicating that it is post the Fleurbaix raid in July 1916, by which time he was already a captain. Peacemaker67 (click to talk to me) 01:03, 23 August 2017 (UTC)[reply]
  • Spot check:
    FN 2a, 2b, 3, 12, 15, 26, 28a, 28b, 49, 54, 62 - okay
    FN24a - AWM site does not say that he was acting commanding officer of the 9th Battalion
  • That was odd. I checked, and it was Hill.
  • FN24b = Supports that the 9th and 10th Battalions were part of the 3rd Brigade, but does not mention Neligan
  • Added citation to Lock, who gives the date.

Comment, leaning support – I supported this article during it's recent MILHIST A-Class review and, having reviewing the changes made since then, am confident that it also meets the FA criteria. I have one question/comment before I outright support, however: I see that Wilder-Neligan has been the subject of a recent full-length biography—Peter Holmes' A Magnificent Anzac: The Untold Story of Lieutenant Colonel Maurice Wilder-Neligan (Reedy Creek: Peter Lloyd Holmes Publications, 2013). Not having read the book, I'm not sure of quality or content (though I do note that it appears to be self-published). However, I was just wondering whether you had viewed or considered the source when writing this article? Cheers, Abraham, B.S. (talk) 04:04, 2 September 2017 (UTC)[reply]

G'day Abraham, B.S.. I saw it when I was working through Trove for newspaper mentions, but haven't tried to get access to it as it is obviously self-published, and I couldn't find out anything about the author online. Frankly, I didn't think it would meet the bar for a reliable source in a FA. It is held by a few libraries, including my state one, so I could take a look, but I still think it has the unsolvable issue of being self-published by an unknown, so not subject to editorial oversight etc. Cheers, Peacemaker67 (click to talk to me) 05:24, 2 September 2017 (UTC)[reply]
It is quite rare, but sometimes self-published sources will be by a reputable author. Obviously that is not the case here, so I'm happy to support. Cheers, Abraham, B.S. (talk) 07:21, 2 September 2017 (UTC)[reply]
During the fighting from 10–14 August - either "During the fighting from 10 to 14 August" or "During the fighting over 10–14 August".
Do we know any more about his wife and child? How/why did he abandon them - any contact later?

A nice read overall. Cas Liber (talk · contribs) 11:57, 7 September 2017 (UTC)[reply]

Thanks Cas Liber. Fixed first one, second one, no we don't. It is a bit weird, leaving his family in London, but I haven't been able to find anything that explains him moving to Australia or returning after the war. Perhaps he was keeping away from debt collectors? Cheers, Peacemaker67 (click to talk to me) 01:55, 8 September 2017 (UTC)[reply]
@Peacemaker67: The debt collectors were certainly after him. I've added to the article talkpage with a newspaper article from 1908, showing bankruptcy proceedings against him, and a substantial sum owing to family and other creditors. The article also has some interesting details of his apparent travels in the pre-War years. Didn't want to add to the article directly given FAC status, but this might be a useful pointer to the reasons behind his sudden relocation. -- Euryalus (talk) 04:11, 28 September 2017 (UTC)[reply]
Thanks Euryalus! I've added that detail in. Cheers, Peacemaker67 (click to talk to me) 05:21, 28 September 2017 (UTC)[reply]

Support on prose per my standard disclaimer. Well done. As always, feel free to revert my copyediting. These are my edits. - Dank (push to talk) 14:39, 8 October 2017 (UTC)[reply]

Thanks, as always Dan! Peacemaker67 (click to talk to me) 22:49, 8 October 2017 (UTC)[reply]

@FAC coordinators: can I please have dispensation for a new nom? This one looks good to go. Peacemaker67 (click to talk to me) 23:43, 8 October 2017 (UTC)[reply]

That’s fine with me. Sarastro1 (talk) 06:47, 9 October 2017 (UTC)[reply]

Closing comment: One minor point is that the lead image lacks alt text. But that isn't worth delaying promotion over. Sarastro1 (talk) 21:38, 11 October 2017 (UTC)[reply]

The above discussion is preserved as an archive. Please do not modify it. No further edits should be made to this page.
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