Francis William Voelcker

Francis William Voelcker CBE DSO MC
High Commissioner of Western Samoa
In office 1948–1949
Succeeded by	Guy Powles
Administrator of Western Samoa
In office 1946–1948
Preceded by	Alfred Turnbull
Personal details
Born	London, United Kingdom 9 October 1896[1]
Died	22 May 1954(1954-05-22) (aged 57) Auckland, New Zealand

Lieutenant-Colonel Francis William Voelcker CBE DSO MC (9 October 1896 – 22 May 1954) was a British army officer and colonial administrator.

Biography

Born in London in 1896,[2] Voelcker attended Shrewsbury School before joining the Royal Military College, Sandhurst in 1914.[1] After the outbreak of World War I he was assigned to the King's Shropshire Light Infantry[3] 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.[4][5] 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]

Voelcker's military medals

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 with the New Zealand Military Forces, commanding the 34th Battalion for a time.[6] He subsequently commanded the Third Battalion, Fiji Regiment during the Solomon Islands campaign.[7] He was awarded the Bronze Star Medal by the United States in 1944 for his actions during the campaign,[8] and was later given the Distinguished Service Order.[4]

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.[7] After returning to New Zealand, he served in Korea as part of the United Nations Korean Reconstruction Agency until being invalided in 1953.[7]

He died at his home in Auckland on 22 May 1954 at the age of 58.[7]

References

1. F.W. Voelcker Pacific Islands Monthly, January 1946, p26
2. The New Administrator of Western Samoa Pacific Islands Monthly, November 1945, p28
3. "No. 28969". The London Gazette. 10 November 1914. p. 9142.
4. Further Decotrations for the FMF Pacific Islands Monthly, January 1945, p33
5. "No. 13558". The Edinburgh Gazette. 2 February 1920. p. 313.
6. Lieutenant-Colonel F.W. Voelcker, DSO, OBE, MC New Zealand Electronic Text Collection
7. Colonel F.W. Voelcker Pacific Islands Monthly, July 1954, p141
8. Fiji Commanders Decorated Pacific Islands Monthly, November 1944, p16