Peter Handcock
Encyclopedia
Peter Joseph Handcock was a Veterinary Lieutenant in the Bushveldt Carbineers
in the Boer War
in South Africa. Handcock and Harry "Breaker" Morant
were court martial
ed and executed by firing squad on 27 February 1902 on murder
charges for shooting Boer prisoners and a German missionary, Jacob Hesse, who had been a witness to the shootings. A third defendant, George Witton, who had also been sentenced to death by the court-martial, was reprieved after three years.
Handcock was born near Bathurst, New South Wales
, and was apprenticed to a blacksmith at age 12. He worked as a blacksmith with the Railways Department. Married at 21, he had three children. He served in South Africa with the 1st New South Wales Mounted Rifles, and was promoted to Farrier-Sergeant. When the NSWMR returned home he obtained a commission in the Bushveldt Carbineers
as Veterinary and Transport Officer, and was subsequently court-martialled for shooting Boer prisoners. The court-martial and sentence has subsequently been controversial in Australia.
Petitions for Review of Convictions and Sentences - Lieutenants Morant, Handcock and Witton
Jim Unkles has submitted two petitions, one to Queen Elizabeth II, and the other to the House of Representatives Petitions Committee. The petitions have been referred to the British Crown by the Australian Attorney General. The British Government is considering the petition on behalf of the Queen and is yet to announce a review, (expected to be made after the UK election). The second petition was considered by the Petitions committee on 15 March 2010. Unkles appeared before the committee, along with others including, historian Craig Wilcox.
Committee member, Alex Hawke, MP stated, 'There is in my view serious and compelling evidence that some form of redress should be given all these years later to those men executed by the British'.(Hansard Transcript House of Representatives Grievance Debate 15 March 2010).
Bushveldt Carbineers
The Bushveldt Carbineers were a short-lived, multinational mounted infantry regiment of the British Army, raised in South Africa during the Second Boer War. The BVC is recognized as the world's first modern Special forces for the use of counter insurgency tactics.The 320-strong regiment was...
in the Boer War
Second Boer War
The Second Boer War was fought from 11 October 1899 until 31 May 1902 between the British Empire and the Afrikaans-speaking Dutch settlers of two independent Boer republics, the South African Republic and the Orange Free State...
in South Africa. Handcock and Harry "Breaker" Morant
Breaker Morant
Harry 'Breaker' Harbord Morant was an Anglo-Australian drover, horseman, poet, soldier and convicted war criminal whose skill with horses earned him the nickname "The Breaker"...
were court martial
Court martial of Breaker Morant
The court-martial of six officers of the Bushveldt Carbineers , an irregular British force in the Boer War, was based on charges asserting that, between July and September 1901, a Lieutenant Harry Morant had incited the co-accused, Lts Handcock, Witton and others under his command to murder some...
ed and executed by firing squad on 27 February 1902 on murder
Murder
Murder is the unlawful killing, with malice aforethought, of another human being, and generally this state of mind distinguishes murder from other forms of unlawful homicide...
charges for shooting Boer prisoners and a German missionary, Jacob Hesse, who had been a witness to the shootings. A third defendant, George Witton, who had also been sentenced to death by the court-martial, was reprieved after three years.
Handcock was born near Bathurst, New South Wales
Bathurst, New South Wales
-CBD and suburbs:Bathurst's CBD is located on William, George, Howick, Russell, and Durham Streets. The CBD is approximately 25 hectares and surrounds two city blocks. Within this block layout is banking, government services, shopping centres, retail shops, a park* and monuments...
, and was apprenticed to a blacksmith at age 12. He worked as a blacksmith with the Railways Department. Married at 21, he had three children. He served in South Africa with the 1st New South Wales Mounted Rifles, and was promoted to Farrier-Sergeant. When the NSWMR returned home he obtained a commission in the Bushveldt Carbineers
Bushveldt Carbineers
The Bushveldt Carbineers were a short-lived, multinational mounted infantry regiment of the British Army, raised in South Africa during the Second Boer War. The BVC is recognized as the world's first modern Special forces for the use of counter insurgency tactics.The 320-strong regiment was...
as Veterinary and Transport Officer, and was subsequently court-martialled for shooting Boer prisoners. The court-martial and sentence has subsequently been controversial in Australia.
Petitions for Review of Convictions and Sentences - Lieutenants Morant, Handcock and Witton
Jim Unkles has submitted two petitions, one to Queen Elizabeth II, and the other to the House of Representatives Petitions Committee. The petitions have been referred to the British Crown by the Australian Attorney General. The British Government is considering the petition on behalf of the Queen and is yet to announce a review, (expected to be made after the UK election). The second petition was considered by the Petitions committee on 15 March 2010. Unkles appeared before the committee, along with others including, historian Craig Wilcox.
Committee member, Alex Hawke, MP stated, 'There is in my view serious and compelling evidence that some form of redress should be given all these years later to those men executed by the British'.(Hansard Transcript House of Representatives Grievance Debate 15 March 2010).