List of New Zealand soldiers executed during World War I
Overview
Western Front (World War I)
Following the outbreak of World War I in 1914, the German Army opened the Western Front by first invading Luxembourg and Belgium, then gaining military control of important industrial regions in France. The tide of the advance was dramatically turned with the Battle of the Marne...
with the New Zealand Expeditionary Force
New Zealand Expeditionary Force
The New Zealand Expeditionary Force was the title of the military forces sent from New Zealand to fight for Britain during World War I and World War II. Ultimately, the NZEF of World War I was known as the First New Zealand Expeditionary Force...
were executed for military offences during 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...
. The executions, carried out by firing squad, were not made public at the time. All five were posthumously pardoned on 14 September 2000, when New Zealand's Pardon for Soldiers of the Great War Act became law. The bill was presented by Mark Peck
Mark Peck
Mark Everett Peck is a New Zealand politician. He is a member of the Labour Party. He was MP for Invercargill from 1993, when he first won the seat in the 1993 elections until 2005 when he announced he would not stand for re-election at the 2005 Parliamentary elections.-Early life:Peck was born in...
, Member of Parliament for Invercargill. The vote was 112 for the motion and five against.