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War Memorial
Australia

Evening Echo (Ballarat, Vic. : 1914 - 1918), 5 May 1915, page 4

LIEUT. M. L. McLEOD.

Lieut. Maurice Leslie McLeod, whose widowed mother resides in Gregory street, Ballarat North, was attached to F. Company, 8th Battalion, and was for some years in Western Australia. On settling in Ballarat a few years ago he joined the Senior Cadets (the Old Blues), under Captain S. E. Tucker, under whom he became a non-commissioned officer. He became a lieutenant on August 18th, 1913, and was transferred to the citizen forces on March 1st, 1914. He went on active service with the First Expeditionary force. He was just 21 years of age, attaining his majority while en route to the Dardanelles. Lieut. McLeod was at one time employed at Tyler's, in the tailoring department, but subsequently joined the staff of Gribble and Company. In both establishments he was highly appreciated as a keen, courteous, and upright mail. Both firms pay a high compliment to his many good qualities. His father was the late Mr. Sydney McLeod, mine manager, formerly of Ballarat, and late of Western Australia, where he died. The young officer was secretary of Scots' Church Sunday School.

When the commander of the 8th Battalion, William Bolton, wrote home to his wife, he paid tribute to several Ballarat officers who fell during the early days of the campaign.  After touching on the losses during the Landing, Lieutenant-Colonel Bolton iterated something that should resonate with us all on ANZAC Day.

‘…I will say nothing about the gruesome story except to tell you that all ranks in our brigade were heroes — every man of them. When I saw the wreck of my own battalion I grieved exceedingly for the noble, brave hearts who had died, while I was filled with admiration for the amazing fortitude of those poor souls in. mortal agony. with never a whimper nor a whine about their awful suffering. How one gets to love these men you can hardly understand it at times. The usual observer sees in them perhaps rough and ready sort of chaps generally using strong language when excited, but when you see them looking death straight in the eye, and never a flinch; when you see a boy dying in mortal agony, and you go to him and put your hand on his head and say, "Well…poor laddie," and he looks up at you and smiles, and when you see them tenderly lift: a wounded Turk, unbutton, his clothes, give him water to drink, all with the care and tenderness of a woman, then you understand how it is you love them.

A poet says, "An honest man is the noblest work of God." Our boys are giants in the things that make a manly man. To those who do not understand Australians. I would say let them come and study them on the battlefield, and they will discover, not individual cases alone, but universal showing of such manly virtues that would make the angels rejoice that the world possesses such men. I pray God Australia will not forget it when these men return broken, and maimed for life, and for those who will never return let the people show a loving care for those who mourn their loss.

I saw a Ballarat paper, dated 10th May, where the Rev A. H. Moore preached about Lieut. McLeod. Tell Mrs. McLeod this. Her laddie was shot on the 25th April, a considerable distance in front of where we had made our trenches. Six of the boys out of his own platoon went out on Monday, and amidst a hail of bullets carried him in behind the lines where we buried him, and put a little wooden cross over him. He was found lying on his back with his arms across his chest, holding in both hands a little pocket Bible, opened at his favourite page, and so he died reading his Bible as long as life lasted, poor laddie!.....”