Family Name:
Cannon
Given Names:
Keith Anthony
Gender:
Male
Birth-date:
Unknown, possibly 1946
Death-date:
Unknown
Marital Status:
Unknown, probably single
Age Range:
Early 20s
Location:
ACT, Downer
Occupation:
Unknown
Primary Motivation:
Draft Resister, anti-conscription
Reason for Court Appearance:
Failure to register for national service
Court Name and Location:
Court of Petty Sessions, Canberra
Court Hearing Date:
30 April 1971
Court Outcome:
Convicted and fined $60
Military Event:
National Service and Vietnam War 1964-1972
Further Information:
Keth Cannon was from Downer a suburb of Canberra, He opposed the National Service Act 1964 (NSA). Accordingly, he refused to register for an intake of conscripts. He was summonsed to the Court of Petty Sessions in Canberra on 30 April for that offence under the NSA. He failed to appear. The magistrate convicted him and fined him $60. An Affidavit to the effect that a summonses had been served was produced. It is likely that Keith was not further prosecuted under the NSA. 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 stopped by the newly elected Whitlam Labor government in early December 1972
Confirmatory Sources:
Canberra Times, 1 May 1971, p.32.
THE AUSTRALIAN PEACE HONOUR ROLL 