Lieutenant-Colonel F. W. Voelcker, Dso, Obe, Mc

At Sandhurst when war broke out in 1914, Colonel Voelcker joined the King's Shropshire Light Infantry at the age of 18. He went to France as a lieutenant, won the Military Cross, and was severely wounded by enemy bayonets and was captured. While posted as 'dead' by the British authorities, he made three unsuccessful attempts to escape, on one occasion reaching the coast of the Baltic. Remaining in the British Army after the war, Colonel Voelcker served in Aden, Ireland and India before retiring to civil life in New Zealand in 1928. In 1940 he was appointed second-in-command of the newly-formed 30th Battalion, B Force, but was transferred to the command of the infantry reinforcements before leaving New Zealand. On arrival in Fiji these were formed into the Training Battalion, later re-named Reserve Battalion, and finally 34th Battalion. Colonel Voelcker relinquished command of the 34th in June 1942. Subsequently he commanded a battalion of the Fiji Military Forces, which saw service in the Solomons. He was decorated with the OBE and Dso in 1944.