Victor Spencer
Encyclopedia
Victor Manson Spencer was a volunteer from Invercargill
, New Zealand
who fought in the Otago Regiment of the New Zealand Division in World War I
. Victor was executed for desertion in February 1918, despite later suggestions that he was severely traumatised by shellshock
, having fought and survived several campaigns. He was the last soldier to be executed during World War I.
New Zealand soldiers were subject to British military law. By contrast, death penalties imposed on Australian soldiers had to be confirmed by the Governor-General, which the Australian government did not allow.
Spencer was finally pardoned by the New Zealand Parliament in 2005, 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 an inappropriate action. The decision, 87 years and a world away from the battlefields of World War I, was inevitably controversial.
Invercargill
Invercargill 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. It lies in the heart of the wide expanse of the Southland Plains on the Oreti or New River some 18 km north of Bluff,...
, New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
who fought in the Otago Regiment of the New Zealand Division in World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
. Victor was executed for desertion in February 1918, despite later suggestions that he was severely traumatised by shellshock
Combat stress reaction
Combat stress reaction , in the past commonly known as shell shock or battle fatigue, is a range of behaviours resulting from the stress of battle which decrease the combatant's fighting efficiency. The most common symptoms are fatigue, slower reaction times, indecision, disconnection from one's...
, having fought and survived several campaigns. He was the last soldier to be executed during World War I.
New Zealand soldiers were subject to British military law. By contrast, death penalties imposed on Australian soldiers had to be confirmed by the Governor-General, which the Australian government did not allow.
Spencer was finally pardoned by the New Zealand Parliament in 2005, 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 an inappropriate action. The decision, 87 years and a world away from the battlefields of World War I, was inevitably controversial.