PRESTIDGE, Leslie John

Family Name:

Prestidge

Given Names:

Leslie John

Gender:

Male

Birth-Date:

Unknown, possibly 1936

Death-Date:

Unknown

Marital Status:

Unknown, probably single

Age:

18 years old

Location:

NSW

Occupation:

Unknown

Primary Motivation:

Conscientious Objector, religious

Reason for Court Appearance:

Application for exemption from combatant military duties

Court Name and Location:

Court of Petty session, Sydney

Court Hearing Date:

16 February 1955

Court Outcome:

Application was dismissed.

Military Event:

National Service 1951-1959

Further Information:

Leslie Prestidge was from New South Wales and a member of the Brethren Church. He applied for exemption from combatant military duties under the National Service Act 1951 (NSA) based on religious grounds. His hearing was on 16 February 1955 at the Sydney Court of Petty Sessions before Magistrate J McCauley. The magistrate commented that Leslie was unable to answer questions put to him in court and had not convinced him of his sincerity concerning his conscientious beliefs. He suggested it may have been the result of nervousness and that he thought Leslie was honest. McCauley stated that, The fact that they were members of a religious sect which opposed military service was not of itself sufficient…While I am prepared to give the greatest latitude in dealing with applicants for non-combatant service, I must have some evidence of conscientious objection to the combatant service…If one has a conscientious belief, it is a very sincere belief , one might say a passion…There must be evidence of a definite condition of mind. The magistrate judged this had not been in evident with Leslie and he dismissed his application. It is unknown if the applicant appealed.

Confirmatory Sources:

Peacemaker, June 1955 p.2.

Bobbie Oliver, Hell No! We Won’t Go! Resistance to Conscription in Post War Australia, Interventions, Melbourne, 2022, p.231.