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

Born in London in 1896,^[2] Voelcker attended Shrewsbury School before joining the Sandhurst Military Academy 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]

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]