Family Name:
Madden
Given Names:
Leonard George (Len)
Gender:
Male
Birth-date:
Unknown, possibly 1950
Death-date:
Unknown
Marital Status:
Married
Age Range:
Early 20s
Location:
NSW
Occupation:
Unknown
Primary Motivation:
Draft Resister, anti-conscription
Reason for Court Appearance:
Failure to obey a call-up notice
Court Name and Location:
Unknown, NSW
Court Hearing Date:
14 February 1972
Court Outcome:
Warrant issued for arrest
Military Event:
National Service and Vietnam War 1964-1972
Further Information:
Leonard Madden was from New South Wales and was opposed to the National Service Act 1964 (NSA). He refused to register under the ACT. His wife ‘dobbed’ him in for his non-compliance. He also refused to undertake the mandatory medical examination under the NSA. It is unknown if he was prosecuted for these offences. He continued with his non-compliance and refused to obey a call-up notice. A warrant for his arrest was issued on 14 February 1972. Despite this it is likely that Len was not prosecuted for his failure to obey the call-up. 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:
Tharunka, 18 October 1972, p.6.
Len Madden File, Vivienne Abraham Notes.
Bobbie Oliver, Hell No! We Won’t Go! Resistance to Conscription in Post War Australia, Interventions, Melbourne, 2022, p.255.
THE AUSTRALIAN PEACE HONOUR ROLL 