NEILL, Maxwell
| Service Number: | 787 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 5 February 1916, at Adelaide |
| Last Rank: | Corporal |
| Last Unit: | 43rd Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | Port Pirie, South Australia, May 1888 |
| Home Town: | Woodside, Adelaide Hills, South Australia |
| Schooling: | Port Pirie Public School |
| Occupation: | Baker |
| Died: | April 1920, cause of death not yet discovered, place of death not yet discovered |
| Cemetery: | Not yet discovered |
| Memorials: | Woodside District of Onkaparinga Honour Board, Woodside R.S.S. & A.I.L.A. Honour Roll |
World War 1 Service
| 5 Feb 1916: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Private, 787, 43rd Infantry Battalion, at Adelaide | |
|---|---|---|
| 9 Jun 1916: | Involvement Private, 787, 43rd Infantry Battalion, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '18' embarkation_place: Adelaide embarkation_ship: HMAT Afric embarkation_ship_number: A19 public_note: '' | |
| 9 Jun 1916: | Embarked Private, 787, 43rd Infantry Battalion, HMAT Afric, Adelaide | |
| 5 Jun 1917: | Promoted Lance Corporal, 43rd Infantry Battalion, Promoted from Private to Lance Corporal. | |
| 8 Sep 1917: | Promoted AIF WW1, Corporal, 43rd Infantry Battalion |
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Add my storyBiography contributed by St Ignatius' College
Life before the war
The life of Maxwell Neill began in 1888 in Port Pirie. He was welcomed into the world by his father James Neill, went while his mother was unnamed. Before the war the occupation he took was a baker. When he enlisted, he was of an average height of 5’7 and an average weight of 60kg. He was shown to be in perfect shape physically with no diseases and perfect eyesight, which showed him to be able to participate in the war.
Life during the war
Maxwell Neill enlisted for the war on the 5th February 1916. He didn’t depart for the Western Front until a couple of months later. He was likely training for the war before he departed. Ordinarily, the basic training would have consisted of fitness exercises, discipline and how to use and maintain weapons. He left for the war on the HMAT Afric 19 on the 9th June 1916. After additional training in Egnland, his unit departed for France in November 1916.
Neill was quickly identified as a soldier with leadership qualities, being sent to training schools and quickly promoted to Lance Corporal (5 June 1917) and then Corporal (8 September 1917). He served with the 43rd Battalion through its fighting at Messines in June and near Ypres in September and October. However, on 21 November 1917 he was hospitalised with an unknown fever, after months spent in the terrible conditions around Ypres. This gradually worsened until in early 1918 the decision was made to return him to Australia for discharge with bronchial catarrh.
Life after the war
Maxwell Neill returned to Australia on the 10th of March 1918. Considering the date of return and the time he got sick at the end of the war, some of the time he travelled back to Australia he would have been sick. He earnt the Victory Medal and the British War Medal, which most soldiers earnt. Neill spent some time in a sanatorium after returning to Australia and, according to doctors, was suffering from pulmonary tuberculosis. He died in late April 1920.
Reference list
Adfa.edu.au. (2016). Search. [online] Available at: https://www.aif.adfa.edu.au/search.
Anon, (n.d.). Available at: https://birtwistlewiki.com.au/images/thumb/2/26/HMAT_A19_Afric.jpg/600px-HMAT_A19_Afric.jpg.
Army.mod.uk. (2021). Rank Progression - British Army Jobs. [online] Available at: https://apply.army.mod.uk/what-we-offer/army-life/ranks#:~:text=Promotion%20to%20Lance%20Corporal%20may [Accessed 23 Mar. 2021].
birtwistlewiki.com.au. (2021). HMAT A19 Afric - Our Contribution. [online] Available at: https://birtwistlewiki.com.au/wiki/HMAT_A19_Afric.
recordsearch.naa.gov.au. (n.d.). National Archives of Australia - Login. [online] Available at: http://recordsearch.naa.gov.au.
www.awm.gov.au. (n.d.). AWM4 Subclass 23/60 - 43rd Infantry Battalion. [online] Available at: https://www.awm.gov.au/collection/C1339186.