Francis William Voelcker

Born in London in 1896,[2] Voelcker attended Shrewsbury School before joining the Sandhurst Military Academy in 1914.[1] After the outbreak of World War I he was assigned to the King's Shropshire Light Infantry and went to fight in Belgium in 1915, where he was taken prisoner by the German army. During his three-and-a-half years as a POW, he escaped from three camps.[2] After the war he was awarded the Military Cross.[3] He continued his military service, initially serving in Ireland in 1919, before going to Aden.[1] He was subsequently transferred to India in 1921.[1] Whilst there he married Norah Hodgson in 1924, with whom he had two daughters.[2]

In 1928 he left the army and moved to New Zealand, settling in Kerikeri,[2] where he grew citrus fruits.[1] However, during World War II he re-entered military service,[4] commanding the Third Battalion, Fiji Regiment during the Solomon Islands campaign.[5] He was awarded the Bronze Star Medal by the United States in 1944 for his actions during the campaign,[6] and was later given the Distinguished Service Order.[3]

In 1946 he was appointed Administrator of Western Samoa. Following constitutional amendments, he became High Commissioner two years later. He was made a CBE in the 1949 Birthday Honours, before stepping down in 1949.[5] After returning to New Zealand, he served in Korea as part of the United Nations Korean Reconstruction Agency until being invalided in 1953.[5]

He died at his home in Auckland on 22 May 1954 at the age of 58.[5]