Family Name:
Lewis
Given Names:
Gregory David
Gender:
Male
Birth-Date:
Unknown
Death-Date:
Unknown
Marital Status:
Unknown, probably single
Age/ Age Range:
Early 20s
Location:
NSW, Wentworthville
Occupation:
National Serviceman
Primary Motivation:
Conscientious Objector
Reason for Court/ Tribunal Appearance:
[1] Application for full exemption from military service
[1] Appeal to being ranted exemption from combatant duties only
Court/ Tribunal Name and Location:
[1] Magistrates Court, Sydney
[2] District Court, Sydney
Court/ Tribunal Hearing Date:
[1] Unknown
[2] 23 April1969
Court/Tribunal Outcome
[1] Granted exemption from combatant duties only
[2] Granted full exemption from military service as a conscientious objector:
Military Event:
National Service and Vietnam War 1964-1972
Further Information:
Gregory Lewis was a National serviceman of Wentworthville in New South Wales (NSW). He had served in the army and then made an application to be full exempted from military service before Magistrate Rogers. He had been granted exemption from combatant duties only. He appealed the decision, and the appeal was heard by Judge Ross on 23 April 1969 at the District Court, Sydney. The Judge upheld the appeal. Judge Ross said, “I propose to allow the appeal. These are difficult matters to decide because the court is asked to evaluate the state of mind of an individual…I believe that he really does have a firm conscientious objection towards taking life. I believe in the fullest sense of the word, he could be described as a complete pacifist…One must be careful indeed about having any regard to one’s own conscience or one’s own beliefs in these matters, because if one does one tends to judge these applications rather upon what one thinks an applicant ought to believe than upon what he in fact believes”.
Confirmatory Sources:
Peacemaker, May/ June 1969, p.3.
THE AUSTRALIAN PEACE HONOUR ROLL 