Family Name:
Phillipson
Given Names:
Desmond
Gender:
Male
Birth-Date:
Probably 1947
Death-Date:
Unknown
Marital Status:
Single and Engaged
Age Range:
Early 20s
Location:
WA
Occupation:
National Serviceman, Clerk
Primary Motivation:
Conscientious Objection, pacifism
Reason for Court Appearance:
[1] Failure to obey army orders
[2] Application for full exemption from military duties as a conscientious objector
[3] Appeal against the non-granting of an application for full exemption of military duties
Court Name and Location:
[1] Holsworthy Military Prison, New South Wales
[2] Court of Petty Sessions, Perth
[3] Supreme Court of Western Australia, Perth
Court Hearing Date:
[1] 18 April 1968
[2] 17 July 1968
[3] 29 September 1968, reserved decision 4 November 1968
Court/Tribunal Outcome:
[1] Confined at Holsworthy
[2] Application was not granted
[3] Appeal was dismissed
Military Event:
National Service and Vietnam War 1964-1972
Further Information:
Desmond Phillipson was from Western Australia and enlisted during 1968, with some personal misgivings. He was inducted into the army at the Karrakatta Barracks on 7 February 1968. He was then was sent to Puckapanyal in Victoria for military training. During his third week of training, he was required to simulate the killing of dummy men, the ‘enemy’ which revulsed him. He decided to apply for full exemption from military duties as a conscientious objector. He stated in his application Whereas before I thought of killing in only the abstract sense, at this point it became a harsh reality – there was no evading the question of killing any more. [The dummy incident] had the effect of making me think about killing more deeply than I had before and [made] me realise that the object of all this training was to teach me to kill. I also became aware of just how brutal warfare had become and that any position I might fill would be contributing to this killing. At the end of his 5 weeks of training he returned to Western Australia where he became engaged to be married and no doubt discuss with his family his immediate future.
He then returned to camp and informed his commanding officer of his intention to apply for full exemption from military duties as a conscientious objector. He also informed him that he would refuse to undertake any further military training as this was against his conscience. Desmond refused to carry out army orders and as a result he was imprisoned by the military for a month. Because of his continued refusal to obey orders he was court martialed on 18 April 1968. He was confined for 40 days at Holsworthy Military Prison in New South Wales. He was maltreated by the army. After the court martial, Desmond continued to refuse to obey orders and to eat, walk or talk. He later stated that he was carried into and off a plane that transferred him from Victoria to Sydney. He was pulled out of a truck that took him from Sydney to Holsworthy and dumped on the ground. He was pulled by his hair and had arms bruised. When he refused a shower, he had cold water poured over him. His clothes were thrown into the cell with him, and no towel was given to dry himself. When he refused to leave his cell, he was transferred to the cold sunless side of B Block where he spent 7 days. The army officers and NCOs accused him of cowardice and a fear of being shot in Vietnam.
Vivienne Abraham, who supported many conscientious objectors, visited Desmond at Holsworthy on 22 April 1968 and 1 May1968. Her wish to have a private conversation with him was denied by the commandant. She was told by Dennis O’Donnell, who was in the next cell, that Desmond arrived at prison with a ‘bloody head’. Dennis had heard that Desmond had been ‘bashed up’ and heard crying, but saying he would never give in. When Vivienne visited Desmond he was in solitary confinement. He had been denied writing materials and was prevented from communicating with his family. The commandant gave Vivienne permission to contact Dennis’s family on his behalf. Desmond went on a fast and was admitted to hospital. Desmond refused to obey any order from the military. The commandant advised him that if he continued with the disobedience the army would refuse to grant his request that his court hearing be heard in Perth. Instead, he would be continually court martialed and be taken to Sydney under army escort. Desmond relented and agreed to obey orders. He asked Vivienne to explain the situation to his fiancée and ask her to end civilian clothes. Des was then transferred to Kapooka, New South Wales, where Vivienne and Desmond’s legal team visited him.
What followed was a protracted series of disappointing court hearings for Desmond. On 30 May 1968 the army granted him leave without pay and put him on a train to Melbourne. He was successful in having the court hearing by WM Murray at the Court of Petty Sessions, Melbourne on 13 June 1968 to be transferred to Perth with a hearing on 17 July 1968. His application for full exemption from military duties as a conscientious objector was not granted by Magistrate FEA Bateman in a reserved decision at the Court of Petty Session in Perth on 26 July 1968. Desmond was granted further leave without pay from the army to prepare for an appeal against Bateman’s decision to the Supreme Court of Western Australia on 29 September 1968. The hearing was before Acting Judge Staples who gave a reserved decision on 4 November 1968, rejecting Desmond’s appeal. The Judge quoted a precedent case which defined the nature of conscientious objection. In part it said, A tribunal…must consider not only the content of the belief asserted but whether it is sincere and if sincere, its steadfastness and how far it is from him compelling…In short, the Judge did not believe in Desmond’s conscientious objection was sincere. Desmond then decided he would make a second application for full exemption of military duties with it to be heard on 17 December 1968. The army responded by giving Desmond a medical examination and discharging him from the army. He had perhaps become too much of an embarrassment to the government and the army.
A statement by Desmond after his discharge traced the development of his attitude to the military and war. He said he had no developed theory when he entered the army as a national serviceman. Like most he said he had an aversion to killing other human beings. He claimed that the training he had to undertake was confronting and these situations were responsible for the stimulation of his conscience. He then emphasised the “dummy man” experience, which was part of basic training, On one occasion a dummy was fired upon and when struck a barrel of red ink and gelatine fell from the dummy’s middle and split it contents. A roar of laughter accompanied this demonstration and we were told that this would happen to the ‘yellow men’ when their ‘guts’ were hit…On another occasion when practicing with bayonets we were told to imagine a ‘yellow man’ before us and to plunge the bayonet into the ‘guts’ and to twist it around before withdrawing it in order to inflict maximum damage. In all weapon lessons we were told to imagine the presence of ‘yellow men’ and to exterminate them. He further states that, at Holsworthy, I was subjected at times to brutal and humane(sic) treatment at the hands of various officers and guards. Their action was the direct consequence of my determination to passively resist further Army orders of any kind…I was interested to see Army Minister Lynch’s report on my treatment. I wonder a little at the depth of his investigations. Finally he says, My objection to killing has only been formed over a relatively small time and I cannot therefore give a detailed account of my beliefs. But, I do think that the premediated killing of other human beings is wrong and that as a consequence, I could never be part of an institution geared to that end.
Confirmatory Sources:
Bobbie Oliver, HELL NO! We Won’t Go! Resistance to Conscription in Postwar Australia, Interventions, Melbourne, 2022, esp. pp103-106.
Peacemaker, May/ June 1968, p.8; July/ August 1968, p.3; September/ October 1968, p.3; November/ December 1968. P.3; January/ February 1969, p.3.
NAA Private Desmond Phillipson Service Number 571576 Unit-2nd Recruit Training Battalion Australian Military Forces Date of Court Martial – 18 April 1968.
THE AUSTRALIAN PEACE HONOUR ROLL 