He also appears to have spent time on Rotoroa Island, an alcohol rehabilitation facility run by the Salvation Army, for at least a part of 1912.

The following month he escaped confinement and on recapture, a senior NZEF officer recommended that he be returned to New Zealand to serve out his punishment.

Sentenced to two years imprisonment for his escape, he was being transferred to a prison facility at Blargies when he evaded his guards and went on the run for two days before being caught.

He later claimed that he reminded the struggling Australian of the petition to Birdwood and not to jeopardise this and that his (Braithwaite's) actions were aimed at calming the situation.

[8] Braithwaite pleaded not guilty, but despite evidence from other prisoners that confirmed his side of the story, a general court martial of five British Army officers, convicted him of mutiny and conferred a sentence of death by firing squad.

The decision of the court martial was sent to the commander of the British Expeditionary Force, General Douglas Haig, for approval but was accompanied by a recommendation from the convening officer that the sentences be reduced to a 10-year term of imprisonment.

[8] The only New Zealand soldier executed for mutiny during the war, he is buried in the St Sever Cemetery Extension in the city of Rouen.

[1] Even immediately after the war, when the New Zealand government became aware of the severity of his treatment compared to the Australian mutineers, it decided to keep the release of information of the circumstances of his fate to a minimum.