Wilder-Neligan sprained his ankle on 11 January, and was away from his unit for a week. He was away for another week in late January. On 11 February he went on leave, but did not return until 20 May, as he was temporarily commanding his old battalion from 30 March until that date. Wilder-Neligan was mentioned in despatches for the fourth time on 7 April. While he was commanding the 9th Battalion, it participated in the 3rd Brigade's abortive attempt to capture Méteren on 24 April. On 30 May, the 10th Battalion conducted a successful operation to capture several German posts forward of the line near Merris, suffering 64 casualties. After achieving its objectives, the battalion fought off two German counter-attacks. An innovation employed by Wilder-Neligan during this operation was a battery of rifle grenadiers formed from cooks and other headquarters staff, who provided close support to the assaulting troops. The battalion was congratulated by the army corps, division and brigade commanders for its work.