Family Name:
Middleton
Given Names:
Kenneth Alexander
Gender:
Male
Birth-date:
1919
Death-date:
Unknown
Marital Status
Single
Age/ Age Range:
21
Location:
VIC, East Preston, Melbourne.
Occupation:
Accountant/community worker
Primary Motivation:
Conscientious Objector – Religious Pacifism
Reason for Court Appearance:
[1] Application for unconditional exemption from military service as a conscientious objector.
[2] Appeal
Court Name and Location:
[1] Magistrate’s Court, Preston, VIC
[2] Appeal court, location unknown
[3] Court of Petty Sessions, Coburg, VIC.
Court Hearing Date:
[1] 1 May 1940
[2] Unknown
[3] 22 September 1942.
Court Outcome:
[1] Ordered to perform noncombatant duties with the AAMC.
[2] Appeal adjourned
[3] Ordered to perform noncombatant duties.
Military Event:
World War II 1939-1945
Further Information:
Kenneth Middleton was a member of the Presbyterian Church. His profession was Accountant, but he became a Community Worker with the Goodwill Service Community. He was a member of the Presbyterian Young Men’s Fellowship; the CO Group in Melbourne (where he served as Secretary); the Christian Pacifist Movement; the Peace Pledge Union. When Ken was ordered to perform noncombatant duties, he appealed. The appeal was adjourned but may later have been rejected as the appeared in court again in 1942 and was again ordered to perform noncombatant duties. He appealed again, but whether the appeal came to court is unknown. Ken was a brother of Maxwell Middleton.
Confirmatory Sources:
Kenneth Deakin Rivett Papers, University of Melbourne Archives Accession: 81/136, 83/100, 87/80, Series 3. Correspondence with Individual pacifists; Attorney-General’s Department, NAA: A1608, AA45/1/12/, Item ID 206504. Title: Conscientious Objectors – General Representations.
THE AUSTRALIAN PEACE HONOUR ROLL 