Roger Wilson interviewed for the documentary "Hell No We Won't Go"

Roger Wilson (DOB 1930) was born in East St Kilda and later moved to Altona near the sea, which he loved. His father who had been gassed in the First World War died when Wilson was seven. Roger left school at fourteen, became a deck boy at 16 and at 19 was an able seaman and an active member of the Seamens Union (SUA) and the Communist Party of Australia. At age 29, he was elected Vigilance Officer of the Victorian SUA and later Assistant Secretary, a position he held until 1984. From the 1950s he was involved in anti-colonial activities through the union and took part in the anti-Vietnam war movement from its beginnings in the 1960s. He was prominent in the group of Victorian Left unions which took a strong anti-Vietnam war stand early in the war and played a leading role in the SUA industrial actions involving the Australian ships “Boonaroo” (1966) and “Jeparit (1967) in opposition to their carrying munitions for the war. He was well respected in the anti-conscription underground for arranging assistance for draft resisters to get away secretly on Australian ships. (Description provided by interviewer).