PHILLIPS, Graeme

Family Name:

Phillips

Given Names:

Graeme

Gender:

Male

Birth-Date:

Unknown, possibly 1935

Death-Date:

Unknown

Marital Status:

Unknown, probably single

Age:

18 years old

Location:

VIC, Melbourne

Occupation:

Unknown

Primary Motivation:

Conscientious Objector, religious

Reason for Court Appearance:

[1] Application for total exemption from military duties as a conscientious objector

[2] Appeal against exemption from combatant military duties only

Court Name and Location:

[1] Magistrates Court, Melbourne

[2] County Court, Melbourne

Court Hearing Date:

[1] Early 1953

[2] 1 October 1953

Court Outcome:

[1] Granted exemption from combatant military duties only

[2] Appeal was upheld

Military Event:

National Service 1951-1959

Further Information:

Graeme Phillips was from Melbourne in Victoria and was a member of the Methodist Church. He applied on religious grounds for total exemption from military duties as a conscientious objector under the National Service Act 1951 (NSA). The magistrate granted exemption from combatant duties only. Graeme appeal the decision and it was heard by Justice Read at the County Court in Melbourne on 1 October 1953. Justice Read reiterated that the issue was not whether an applicant held rational views but only whether their objection was sincerely held. This he believed of Graeme and accordingly upheld his appeal.

Confirmatory Sources:

Peacemaker, November 1953, p.2.

Bobbie Oliver, Hell No! We Won’t Go! Resistance to Conscription in Post War Australia, Interventions, Melbourne, 2022, p.31 and p.230.