TRUSCOTT, Lenard

Family Name:

Truscott

Given Names:

Lenard

Gender:

Male

Birth-date:

Unknown, possibly1947

Death-date:

Unknown

Marital Status:

Unknown, probably single

Age Range:

Early 20s

Location:

NSW, Caringbah

Occupation:

Jackeroo

Primary Motivation:

Draft Resister, opposition to conscription and the Vietnam War

Reason for Court Appearance:

[1] Refusal to register for national service

[2] Refusal to answer summons to court because of refusal to register

[3] Refusal to attend medical examination

Court Name and Location:

[1] Court of Petty Sessions, Sydney

[2] Court of Petty sessions, Sydney

[3] Unknown, Unknown

Court Hearing Date:

[1] Early 1968

[2] 23 September 1968

[3] 1969

Court Outcome:

[1] Summons issued to attend court

[2] Convicted and fined $40 plus $17 costs in lieu 29 days jail hard labour

[3] Unknown, was declared medically unfit for national service

Military Event:

National Service and Vietnam War 1964-1972

Further Information:

Lenard Truscott was from Caringbah in New South Wales. He was a Jackeroo by trade. He refused to register for national service under the National Service Act 1964 (NSA), for the January 1968 intake of conscripts. He was summonsed to attend court on 23 September 1968 to be prosecuted for remaining unregistered. When his name was read out in court he stood up in the public gallery to read a brief statement indicating his inability to cooperate in any way with the NSA or any authority acting under it. He informed the court that for past three and a half years he had worked as a Jackeroo in New South Wales. He planned to attend Agricultural College in 1969 to train for his future career, After College he planned to purchase a property of his own. He noted that all of this was now unlikely due to his non-compliance with the NSA. He stated, Originally I had planned to register for National service and to make application for exemption on the grounds of conscientious objection. But, on further consideration of my beliefs which I hold, I decided in August 1967, that the only position I could take without compromising my conscience was one of total non-compliance with the National service Act. So in February of this year, one week after I was due to register, I informed the Minister of Labour and National service of my refusal to register and my reasons for doing so. Lenard further stated, Basically, my objection to National Service is that I dispute the right of the Government to conscript, not only myself, but any person to kill…I believe it is my responsibility as a member of society, to give of myself for the benefit of others. But I will not be conscripted for it.

He then explains why he will not apply to be registered as a conscientious objector, If I were to comply with any aspect of the National Service Act, even to the mere extent of registering as a conscientious objector, I feel that I would be condoning the Act and thus accepting it morally. This I cannot do, because I believe the Act to be immoral .Lenard then turns to the Vietnam War, With regards to the Vietnam War, after a careful study of the history of this war, I cannot see any justification for the allied involvement in the war…The allied involvement is a direct violation of the Geneva Acords and the United Nations Charter, and fort this I believe that the Allied Government should be prosecuted for war crimes against the Vietnamese people.

Lenard refused to pay the fine imposed at the September court hearing and he failed to attend the mandatory medical examination on 8 November 1968. He expected a warrant for his arrest and for him to serve 29 days jail. It is unknown if he served jail-time. Eventually, he was given a medical exemption as he was declared medically unfit for national service during 1969.

Confirmatory Sources:

Peacemaker, September/ October 1968, p.1; January/ February 1969, p.6; March/ April 1969, p.6; May/ June 1970, p.4

Bobbie Oliver, Hell No! We Won’t Go! Resistance to Conscription in Post War Australia, Interventions, Melbourne, 2022, p.263.