DEATH OF A GALLANT OFFICER

Dominion, Volume 11, Issue 166, 3 April 1918, Page 4

DEATH OF A GALLANT OFFICER

6 CAPTAIN SPROTT, M.O. Very widespread regret will be felt at the news of the death in action of Captain William Campbell Sprott, M.C., eldest son of the ltight Dev. T. H. Sprott, Bishop of Wellington. Captain Sprott was a brilliant young man on the threshold of a career that promised to lead him into a life of great usefulness. He was educated at Wanganui Collegiate School and at Wellington College, and later at Victoria Colloge and at Cambridge. At Victoria Collego he won the senior scholarship in Greek, and the Jacob Joseph Scholarship in his graduation year, and he subsequently took his M.A. _ degree with first-class honours in classics. At Cambridge ho achieved the classical and tho history tripos. When the war burst upon tho Empire he was an assistant master in Victoria College, Jersey, but he at once answered tho call, volunteering in August, 1914. He was commissioned second lieutenant_ in November, 1914, and save for brief periods when wounded, be has been on active service practically the whole time since. He has been twice mentioned in dispatches and twice wounded. One of his wounds he received_ in the Somme offensive, in which action he won the Military Cross. His last exploit before this great battle in which he met his death_ was in the offensive against Cambrai in General Byng's army. In those operations/he and his orderly took ten prisoners. Captain Sprott was killed in action instantaneously on March 21!