Peter Handcock

Peter Joseph Handcock (1869 – 1902) was a Veterinary Lieutenant in the Bushveldt Carbineers in the Boer War in South Africa. Handcock and Harry "Breaker" Morant were court martialed and executed by firing squad on 27 February 1902 on murder charges for shooting Boer prisoners and a German missionary, Daniel Heese, who had been a witness to the shootings. A third defendant, George Witton, who had also been sentenced to death by the court-martial, was reprieved after 3 years.

Handcock was born near Bathurst, New South Wales, Australia and was apprenticed to a blacksmith at age 12. He worked as a blacksmith with the Railways Department. Married at 21, he had three children by 1900.

He served in South Africa with the 1st New South Wales Mounted Rifles, and was promoted to Farrier-Sergeant. When the NSWMR returned home he obtained a commission in the Bushveldt Carbineers as Veterinary and Transport Officer, and was subsequently court-martialed for shooting Boer prisoners. The court-martial and sentence has subsequently been controversial in Australia.

Reference

"The Bushveldt Carbineers and the Pietersburg Light Horse" by William (Bill) Woolmore (2002, Slouch Hat Publications Australia) ISBN 0-9579752-0-1