Family Name:
Wickham
Given Names:
Peter
Gender:
Male
Birth-date:
Unknown, possibly 1949
Death-date:
Unknown
Marital Status:
Unknown, probably single
Age:
20 years old
Location:
NSW
Occupation:
Unknown
Primary Motivation:
Draft Resister
Reason for Court Appearance:
NA
Court Name and Location:
NA
Court Hearing Date:
NA
Court Outcome:
NA
Military Event:
National Service and Vietnam War 1964-1972
Further Information:
Peter Wickham was from New South Wales and failed to register for national service under the National Service Act 1964 (NSA), for the July 1969 intake of conscripts. It would seem that Peter was not prosecuted under the NSA despite this offence being about 4 years old before the NSA was suspended and prosecutions dropped.. The government during 1971 and especially 1972 were reluctant to prosecute when the result would be jailing a young man. This was particularly in regard to a refusal to obey a call-up notice. This attracted 18 months’ imprisonment. The government aimed to minimize its political risk of having large numbers of young men in prison. All pending prosecutions under the NSA were dropped by the newly elected Whitlam Labor government in early December 1972.
Confirmatory Sources:
Peacemaker, November/ December 1969, p.8; May/ June 1970, p.4; May/ June/ July/ August 1971, p.11.
THE AUSTRALIAN PEACE HONOUR ROLL 