Australian Veterans For Peace

April 24, 2015

Anzac Day 2015 - Remembering Hugo Throssell VC

In the midst of Australia's current orgy of war glorification, it might be appropriate to remember the life of Hugo Throssell:

In 1919, Gallipoli veteran and Victoria Cross winner, Hugo Throssell said, “The war has made me a socialist and a pacifist. It has made me think and inquire what are the causes of wars. And my thinking and reading have led me to the conclusion that we shall never be free of wars under a system of production for profit”.

After his initial enthusiasm for war, Throssell lived through some of the worst slaughter at Gallipoli and saw his brother killed in action in Palestine. Injured, he ended up suffering from meningitis and what we today call Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).

Already disillusioned about the war, he met and married Communist Party activist and author Katharine Susannah Prichard. After finding it hard to get work during the Depression, Throssell committed suicide in 1933, in the hope his death would see the government grant his wife and child a war pension.

He wrote on the back of his will, “I have never recovered from my 1914-18 experiences”.

Sources and further reading:
http://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/throssell-hugo-vivian-hope-8806
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hugo_Throssell
http://www.solidarity.net.au/mag/current/issue-77-apr/anzacs-who-became-opponents-of-war/

About Us

We, having dutifully served our nation, do hereby affirm our greater responsibility to serve the cause of world peace. To this end we will work with others as follows:

* Toward increasing public awareness of the costs of war

* To restrain our government from intervening, overtly and covertly, in the internal affairs of other nations

* To end the arms race and to reduce and eventually eliminate nuclear weapons

* To seek justice for veterans and victims of war

* To abolish war as an instrument of national policy

* We support only nonviolent solutions to conflict resolution worldwide.

* We stand for creating a world in which conflicts are resolved through dialogue and involving the principles of conflict resolution; A world which condemns wars based on economic or natural resources imperatives; A world which recognises that a nation's natural resources form part of that nation's sovereignty.

* When taking part in protest actions:

1. We will use our anger at injustice as a positive, nonviolent force for change.

2. We will not carry weapons of any kind.

3. We will not vandalize or destroy property.

4. We will not use or carry alcohol or illegal drugs.

5. We will not run or make threatening motions.

6. We will not insult, swear or attack others.

7. We will protect those who oppose or disagree with us from insult or attack.

8. We will not assault, verbally or physically, those who oppose or disagree with us, even if they assault us.

9. Our attitude, as conveyed through our words, symbols and actions, will be one of openness, friendliness, and respect toward all people we encounter including police officers, military personnel, members of the community at large, and all marchers.

10. As members of a nonviolent action, we will follow the directions of the designated coordinators.

11. In the event of a serious disagreement, we will withdraw from the action.

Note: We have shamelessly borrowed some of the above from
our British counterpart.

We want to know what other Australian anti-war veterans think we should stand for.

We're open to suggestions - and new members of course...

Australian Veterans For Peace

April 24, 2015

Anzac Day 2015 - Remembering Hugo Throssell VC

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