Spencer was born in 1886 at Diss, Norfolk United Kingdom.
As a 24-year-old Draper, Spencer boarded the Zieten at Southampton on the 12th of June 1912 bound for Australia. After calls at Suez, Columbo, Freemantle and Adelaide he arrived at Sydney. Spencer enlisted on the 21st of September 1914 and served with the D Company 13th Battalion and the 45th Battalion.
The 13rh Battalion were assembled equipped and trained (many had served in the militia so army drill, shooting and field exercises were not new to them) and by late October the Great Convoy began assembling in ports around the country departing over the period 15-25 October 1914 bound initially for Albany in Western Australia to concentrate and pick up their escorts before crossing the Indian Ocean for the Middle East. The 4th Brigade had to wait for more vessels, so they did not depart Australia until December. On 22nd of December the 13th Battalion departed aboard the HMAT A38 Ulysses at Melbourne bound for Egypt.
Boarding on the 12th of April 15, Spencer along with the rest of the 4th Brigade, under the command of then Colonel John Monash, the 13th Battalion took part in the Landing at Anzac Cove, arriving late on 25 April 1915. For the first four months, between May and August, they undertook defensive operations as the Anzacs attempted to establish themselves on the narrow beachhead that had been captured on the peninsula. On the 23rd of May 1915 Spencer was ‘wounded in action’ suffering a gunshot wound to the forearm. Repatriated to Egypt he was admitted to the 1st General Hospital, Heliopolis a suburb of Cairo on the 31st of May. On the 24th of June he was transferred to the Helicon Convalescent Centre also located at Heliopolis. , Cairo. After discharge from the centre he was sent to details at Zeitoun on the 1st of July.
After the 13th Battalion returned to Egypt, the AIF underwent a period of training and reorganisation which saw the raising of two new divisions which effectively doubled its size. As a part of this expansion, the 13th Battalion was split and provided a cadre of soldiers who had served at Gallipoli to provide experienced men to the newly raised 45th Battalion.
On the 4th of March 1916, Spencer rejoined his unit, which was short lived as six days later as one of the experienced men he was transferred from the 13th Battalion to the 45th Battalion at Tel el Kabir. On the 2nd of April he was taken on strength with the 12th Machine Gun Coy, Lewis Gun Section and returned to his unit on the 4th of April.
In June 1916, the battalion embarked for France to join other units of II Anzac Corps. Its first major battle came at Pozières in August, where it undertook a defensive role, holding ground that had been captured by the Australian 2nd Division earlier in the fighting. The Battle of Pozières (23rd of July – 3rd of September 1916) took place in northern France around the village of Pozières, during the Battle of the Somme. The costly fighting ended with the British in possession of the plateau north and east of the village, in a position to menace the German bastion of Thiepval from the rear. The Australian official historian Charles Bean wrote that “Pozières ridge is more densely sown with Australian sacrifice than any other place on earth”. It was during this battle that on the 19th of August that Spencer was promoted to Corporal (temporary). Later, during a period behind the lines near Ypres in Belgium on the 6th of November, Spencer’s promotion was confirmed.
Spencer was promoted again to Sergeant on the 6th of April just prior to the failed attack at Bullecourt on the 11th of April 1917, which official historian Charles Bean described as ‘Bullecourt, more than any other battle, shook the confidence of Australian soldiers in the capacity of the British command; the errors, especially on April 10th and 11th, were obvious to almost everyone.’ The second attack commencing on the 3rd of May which was described as furious fighting, which in the end only advanced the line a kilometre or so, had been at the heavy cost of another 7,000 Australian casualties. Fortunately, the 45th battalion was held back in reserve and did not take part in the fighting.
In mid-1917 the Battalion suffered heavy casualties during the Battle of Messines from the 7th to the 14th of June. It was during the lull between these two battles that on the 29th of May that Spencer was wounded in action suffering gunshot wounds to his shoulder, hip and abdomen. He was treated at the 7th Field Ambulance and transported to the 53rd Casualty Clearing Station where sadly, he passed away the next day. Spencer was 27 years old when he died from his wounds at Messines in France. Bailleul Communal Cemetery at Bailleul, a large town in France, near the Belgian border, 14.5 Kms south-west of Leper and on the main road from St. Omer to Lille is where he now lies.
