Victor Manson Spencer (1 November 1896 – 24 February 1918) was a volunteer from

Invercargill Invercargill ( , mi, Waihōpai is the southernmost and westernmost city in New Zealand, and one of the southernmost cities in the world. It is the commercial centre of the Southland region. The city lies in the heart of the wide expanse of t ...

, New Zealand who fought in the

Otago Infantry Regiment The Otago Infantry Regiment (Otago Regiment) was a military unit that served within the New Zealand Expeditionary Force (NZEF) in World War I during the Gallipoli Campaign (1915) and on the Western Front (1916–1919). This Regiment and the ...

of the New Zealand Division in

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. Spencer was executed for desertion on 24 February 1918, despite later suggestions that he was severely traumatised by shellshock, having fought and survived several campaigns. New Zealand soldiers were subject to New Zealand military law which, like all nations involved in the conflict, had the death penalty for a number of crimes, including desertion. Out of the 28 death penalties handed down by the New Zealand military. only four were carried out, the rest being quashed by the British commanders of the armies involved. (In addition, New Zealand Private Jack Braithwaite was executed by the British for mutiny.) By contrast, death penalties imposed on Australian soldiers had to be confirmed by the Governor-General, which the Australian government did not allow, although Australians were hanged at Shepton Mallet prison for civil crimes. Spencer was formally pardoned, along with Braithwaite and the three others, under the provisions of the

Pardon for Soldiers of the Great War Act 2000 Pardon for Soldiers of the Great War Act 2000 is statute law in New Zealand. The act sought to remove the blight on their character of five soldiers who were unjustly executed during World War I. One of the pardoned soldiers named in the act was f ...

, which was passed by the New Zealand Parliament in a departure from custom, since pardons are normally granted by the Crown and are rarely posthumous. The grounds for the pardon was that the execution was not a fate that Spencer deserved, but was one that resulted from (a) the harsh discipline that was believed at the time to be required; and (b) the application of the death penalty for military offences being seen at that time as an essential part of maintaining military discipline. Section 8 of the Pardon for Soldiers of the Great War Act reads thus: Spencer was included in the mass pardon of 306 British Empire soldiers executed for certain offences during the Great War enacted in section 359 of the UK Parliament's Armed Forces Act 2006, and which came into effect by Royal Assent on 8 November 2006. He is buried in The Huts Cemetery, Dikkebus, West-Vlaanderen,

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...

References

External links

Last soldier executed

New Zealand Herald articleVictor Spencer a fight for justiceMemorial 'Shot at Dawn' to Victor Spencer and four other soldiers
{{DEFAULTSORT:Spencer, Victor 1896 births 1918 deaths New Zealand Expeditionary Force personnel executed during World War I People who have received posthumous pardons People executed for desertion Recipients of New Zealand royal pardons People from Invercargill Burials at Dickebusch New Military Commonwealth War Graves Commission Cemetery and Extension