BIRCH, Maxwell Stanley

Family Name:

Birch

Given Names:

Maxwell Stanley

Gender:

Male

Birth-Date:

Unknown, possibly 1938

Death-Date:

Unknown

Marital Status:

Unknown, probably single

Age:

17 years old

Location:

VIC, Ballarat

Occupation:

Unknown

Primary Motivation:

Conscientious Objector, religious

Reason for Court Appearance:

Application for total exemption from military duties

Court Name and Location:

Court of Petty Sessions, Melbourne

Court Hearing Date:

December 1955

Court Outcome:

Application was granted

Military Event:

National Service 1951-1959

Further Information:

Maxwell Birch was from Ballarat, a provincial city in Victoria. He applied for total exemption from military duties as a conscientious objector under the National Service Act 1954. He told the court hearing, at Melbourne’s Court of Petty Sessions that, His conscience would not permit him to bear firearms. Even to act as a non-combatant would make him an accomplice. Maxwell also said, it was a conscientious belief that he should not take part in military service because it was going against Christ’s teachings. Magistrate Duggan granted his application.

Confirmatory Sources:

Peacemaker, January/ February 1956, p.2.