Family Name:
Reynolds
Given Names:
William James
Gender:
Male
Birth-date:
Unknown, possibly 1950
Death-date:
Unknown
Marital Status:
Unknown, probably single
Age Range:
Early 20s
Location:
VIC, Ballarat
Occupation:
Unknown
Primary Motivation:
Draft Resister
Reason for Court Appearance:
Failure to attend the medical examination
Court Name and Location:
Unknown, Victoria
Court Hearing Date:
19 August 1971
Court Outcome:
Convicted and jailed for 7 days
Military Event:
National Service and Vietnam War 1964-1972
Further Information:
William Reynolds was from Ballarat, a regional city of Victoria. He opposed the National Service Act 1964 (NSA). He refused to register for a 1970 intake of conscripts. He also refused to attend the mandatory medical examination required under the NSA. He was summonsed to court on 19 August 1971 and was convicted and sentenced to 7 days jail. As part of his statement, he informed the court that is was, hypocrisy in penalizing him for refusing to kill after taught all his life that killing was wrong. He also refused to obey a call-up notice. It was unlikely that Wiliam was 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:
Peacemaker, August/ September, 1970, p.7; September/ December 1971, p.4; May/ June/ July/ August 1971, p.11
THE AUSTRALIAN PEACE HONOUR ROLL 