HODGES, Edward George

Family Name:

Hodges

Given Names:

Edward George

Gender:

Male

Birth-date:

Probably 1947

Death-date:

Unknown

Marital Status:

Unknown, probably single

Age/ Age Range:

20 years old

Location:

WA, Esperance

Occupation:

Cartage Contractor

Primary Motivation:

Conscientious Objector

Reason for Court Appearance:

[a] Application for full exemption from military duties
[b] Appeal against the decision to not grant an application for full exemption from military duties

Court Name and Location:

[a] Magistrates Court, Western Australia
[b] Supreme Court of Western Australia

Court Hearing Date:

[a] 30 November 1967
[b] 7 March1968

Court Outcome:

[a] Application for full exemption from military duties was not granted
[b] Appeal was dismissed

Military Event:

National Service and Vietnam War 1964-1972

Further Information:

Edward Hodges was a Cartage Contractor from Esperance in Western Australia. He applied for full exemption from military duties and the hearing was held on 30 November 1967 before Magistrate WE Nott. The application was not granted. Edward appealed the decision, and this was heard by Mr Justice Darcy in the Supreme Court of Western Australia on 7 March 1968. The appeal was dismissed. In dismissing the appeal Justice Darcy pointed out that Edward could have been baptized as a Christadelphian at the age of sixteen but had not done so. It followed that he had not accepted the tenets of this religion which forbade the taking of oaths and service in the armed forces or the police force. The Justice then cited a 1953 case where the late Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Western Australia, Sir John Dwyer, stated that a conscientious belief is an individual’s conviction of what is morally right or wrong, and it is genuinely reached and held after some process or thinking about the subject. It represents a conclusion that is uninfluenced by any consideration of personal advantage or disadvantage to either to oneself or others. Justice Darcy then informed Edward that in his judgement he had not met the test set by Chief Justice Dwyer.

Confirmatory Sources:

Peacemaker April 1968, p.3.