Rfn
Malcolm Wright Nielson

Information about birth

Date of birth:
14/01/1892
Place of birth:
Opotiki, Bay of Plenty, New Zealand

General information

Profession:
Groom / Horseman

Army information

Country:
New Zealand
Force:
New Zealand Expeditionary Force
Rank:
Rifleman
Service number:
47071
Enlistment date:
09/01/1917
Enlistment place:
Hamilton, Waikato, New Zealand
Units:
 —  New Zealand Rifle Brigade, 1st Bn.  (Last known unit)

Information about death

Date of death:
07/12/1917
Place of death:
Polderhoek, Belgium
Cause of death:
Killed in action (K.I.A.)
Age:
25

Cemetery

Polygon Wood Cemetery
Plot: /
Row: F
Grave: 4

Distinctions and medals 2

Points of interest 3

#1 Place of birth
#2 Enlistment place
#3 Place of death (approximate)

My story

Malcolm Neilson served in the 1st Battalion, 3rd New Zealand Rifle Brigade, New Zealand Division.

The New Zealand Division was in the Polygon Wood area, after the end of the Third Battle of Ypres. Much of the time was spent in wiring, repairing crumbling trenches and improving defences. The landscape was covered with waterlogged shell holes. The opposing German forces generally held higher ground and movement in the New Zealand lines was often observed and shelled or machine-gunned.

The Division relieved the 21st Division from 13th November, when the 3rd (NZ Rifle Brigade) and 4th NZ Infantry Brigades took over the front line. On 1st December the NZ Rifle Brigade relieved the 4th Infantry Brigade in the Becelaere Sector, with the 1st Battalion ( Malcolm’s unit) relieving the 3rd Otago Battalion. The brigade headquarters was at the Polygon Butte.

On 3 December part of 2nd Brigade attacked Polderhoek Chateau, with limited success and heavy casualties. The Rifle Brigade history does not offer much detail on this period so it is difficult to say how Malcolm died on 7 December 1917. There were heavy snow storms during the time.

His body was recovered and he, along with others from the New Zealand Rifle Brigade, is buried at Polygon Wood Cemetery. He is in Row F, Grave 4.

Files 2

Sources 6

"The Official History of the New Zealand Rifle Brigade (The Earl of Liverpool's Own)", Austin W.S., The Naval & Military Press Ltd., 2007 , page 255 - 258
Sources used
Auckland cenotaph
https://www.aucklandmuseum.com/war-memorial/online-cenotaph/record/C11365?n=Neilson%2047071&ordinal=0&from=%2Fwar-memorial%2Fonline-cenotaph%2Fsearch
Sources used
CWGC
https://www.cwgc.org/find-war-dead/casualty/480051/neilson,-malcolm/
Sources used
NZEF project
https://nzef.adfa.edu.au/showPerson?pid=187992
Sources used
Service Records
http://ndhadeliver.natlib.govt.nz/delivery/DeliveryManagerServlet?dps_pid=IE19794685
Sources used
The long, long Trail
https://www.longlongtrail.co.uk/army
Sources used