Family Name:
King
Given Names:
Reginald Charles
Gender:
Male
Birth-Date:
Unknown, possibly 1932
Death-Date:
Unknown
Marital Status:
Unknown, probably single
Age:
19 years old
Location:
SA, Largs Bay
Occupation:
Bank Official
Primary Motivation:
Conscientious Objector, religious
Reason for Court Appearance:
[1] Application for total exemption from military duties as a conscientious objector
[2] Appeal against granting exemption from combatant military duties only
[3] Adjourned appeal against granting exemption from combatant duties only
Court Name and Location:
[1] Unknown, South Australia
[2] Police Court, Adelaide
[3] Supreme Court, Adelaide
Court Hearing Date:
[1] 23 May 1952
[2] 29 September 1952
[3] 20 July 1953
Court Outcome:
[1] Granted exemption from combatant military duties only
[2] Court hearing adjourned
[3] Appeal was upheld after reserved decision
Military Event:
National Service 1951-1959
Further Information:
Reginald King was from Largs Bay in South Australia. He was a Christadelphian by religion. A church that opposed war and militarism. He worked at the Commercial Bank but was sacked when he refused to enlist. Based on his religious beliefs he applied for total exemption from military duties under the National Service Act 1951 (NSA). On 23 May 1952 the magistrate, hearing his application, exempted him from combatant military duties only. Reginald appealed this decision, and a court hearing was scheduled at the Police Court, Adelaide 29 September. It was adjourned and heard in the Supreme Court on 20 July 1953. The appeal was heard before Justice Ross. The judge stated that his own views about the cogency of Reginald’s reasons was immaterial, as it was the essence of freedom of conscience that a man might hold to his conscientious conviction irrespective of whether a judge or other person thought he should have. Justice Ross ordered Reginald’s registration as exempt from service under the NSA.
Confirmatory Sources:
Bobbie Oliver, Hell No! We Won’t Go1 Resistance to Conscription in Post War Australia, Interventions, Melbourne, 2022, p.225.
Peacemaker, September 1953, p.2 and p.30; August/September 1956, p.4.
THE AUSTRALIAN PEACE HONOUR ROLL 