WESTMACOTT, Herbert Horatio Spencer (Service number 12/895)
Bugler, Waitaki Mounted Rifles (Canterbury Museum 1980.175.56082 )
Aliases
Known as Spencer
First Rank
Lieutenant
Last Rank
Major
Birth
Date
10/11/1885
Place of Birth
Christchurch
Enlistment Information
Date
12 August 1914
Age
28 years 8 months
Address at Enlistment
Occupation
Farmer
Previous Military Experience
Volunteer Territorials - 8 years; Cadets - 5½ years
Marital Status
Single
Next of Kin
H. WESTMACOTT, Nile Street, Timaru
Religion
Medical Information
Military Service
Served with
NZ Armed Forces
Served in
Army
Military District
Embarkation Information
Body on Embarkation
Main Body
Unit, Squadron, or Ship
Auckland Infantry Battalion
Date
16 October 1914
Transport
Star of India or Waimana
Embarked From
Wellington, N.Z.
Destination
Suez, Egypt
Other Units Served With
Last Unit Served With
Auckland Infantry Battalion
Military Awards
Campaigns
Service Medals
Military Awards
Officer of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (OBE)
Award Circumstances and Date
London Gazette, 3 June 1919
Prisoner of War Information
Date of Capture
Where Captured and by Whom
Actions Prior to Capture
PoW Serial Number
PoW Camps
Days Interned
Liberation Date
Discharge
Date
Reason
Hospitals, Wounds, Diseases and Illnesses
Right arm amputed; gunshot wounds to right knee. 52% permenent disability
Post-war Occupations
Farmer
Death
Date
26 January 1960
Age
74 years
Place of Death
Lowry Bay, Wellington
Cause
Notices
Memorial or Cemetery
Otorohanga Cemetery
Memorial Reference
Block 1, Plot 20
New Zealand Memorials
Biographical Notes
Herbert Horatio Spencer Westmacott, known as Spencer, was born on 10 November 1885 at Christchurch, the only son of Herbert Horatio Spencer and Ada Janet (née Depree) Westmacott. Spencer was educated at Christchurch Boys’ High School, Fitzroy School, New Plymouth, for six months in 1899, and Waitaki Boy’s High School. For some considerable time before the war, his father had farmed successfully in South Canterbury, notably at Waikakahi, and he helped Spencer acquire land in the North Island and start on his own farming career. On the outbreak of war, Spencer Westmacott enlisted – on 14 August 1914 at Auckland - and named his father as next-of-kin – H. Westmacott, Nile Street, Timaru. He had previously served for 8 years with the Volunteer Territorials and 5½ years with the Cadets. Having landed at Gallipoil on 25 April 1915, he was wounded. While one report stated that he was doing well, another listed him as dangerously ill. He was, in fact, severely wounded, so severely that he lost his right arm. He recovered in England, however, and in 1917 went to France, where, although not in the front line, he was involved in important roles. The London Gazette of 6 June 1919 carried the notification of his appointment as an Officer of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (O.B.E.). Spencer Westmacott married Jean Patricia Campbell, whom he had known from Christchurch days, on 17 September 1918 at St Martin’s, London. Major Westmacott returned to New Zealand per the ‘Awarua’ and reached Timaru by the express from Christchurch on 18 November 1919. He and his comrades were accorded a hearty welcome. They were met at the station by members of the Timaru Reception Committee and conveyed to their homes by cars provided. Major Westmacott was discharged on 20 February 1920. Westmacott gave five years and four months service with the 1st NZEF. His father died in 1926 at Timaru and his mother in 1937, both buried at Timaru. Herbert Horatio Spencer Westmacott, O.B.E., died on 26 January 1960 at Lowry Bay, Wellington, and was buried at Otorohanga. He was survived by his wife, his son Herbert Patrick Westmacott, D.S.O., D.S.C., who saw service with the Royal Navy in World War Two, and two daughters. Herbert Horatio Spencer Westmacott left not only an estate in New Zealand but a sizeable estate in England.
Sources
Auckland War Memorial Museum Cenotaph Database [30 December 2020]; NZ BDM Indexes (Department of Internal Affairs) [30 December 2020]; School Admission record [30 December 2020]; Otorohanga Cemetery burial record (Otorohanga District Council) [30 December 2002]; England & Wales National Probate Calendar (ancestry.com.au) [30 December 2020]; ref. Dictionary of New Zealand Biography (teara.govt.nz) [30 December 2020]; ref. Timaru Herald, 22 August 1914, 20 August 1915, 12 June 1917, 22 March 1919, Waimate Daily Advertiser, 4 May 1915, Dominion, 15 May 1915, Press, 13 January 1916 (Papers Past); Timaru Herald, 19 November 1919, 3 April 1926 (Papers Past) [December 2020]
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