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War Memorial
Australia

Gilbert had two stories published in “Soldiering On” which was a book published for the soldiers of the Australian Army and was made up of contributions by them while they were in active service. His contributions were from Malaya where he was serving with the 2/19th Battalion.
The first, titled “Midnight Messiah”, was an account of an incident that occurred in Johore, Malaya (now Malaysia). The setting was on the edge of a jungle in Johore where the Intelligence Section of the battalion was camped with a Sikh regiment and together they were mapping parts of the country that hadn’t been previously mapped.
Gilbert first describes their daily work:
“It meant long hours each day trudging along narrow jungle tracks with a compass, making traverses. It meant slushing through steamy, stinking swamps, alive with leeches and mosquitoes. The men went off in pairs; one ahead with a compass, the other behind with a cocked rifle as protection against tigers and black panthers. They saw none but frequently came upon elephant pads in the swamps. Monkeys chattered and screeched. Vividly coloured birds, unafraid of humans, perched within a few feet of them; squirrels darted up and down the great cedars. It was hot work and slow work because the jungle tracks spread over the countryside like a jigsaw puzzle.”
He then praises the Sikhs:
“...a great bunch of fellows. They were nearly all six foot tall… fierce fighting men…We got on well with them; they liked Australians.”
The incident he recounts began when the men had a break from mapping at an old timber-cutters’ camp and one the men got bitten on the wrist by “the horridest looking black spider I have ever seen.”
The wounded soldier deteriorated quickly and they treated him for snake bite while carrying him to the truck and heading for the camp. The Indian medical officer there did not know what type of spider it was or how to treat the bite and all the while the soldier was getting worse.
The interpreter then brought along a Sikh private who agreed to attend to the patient. He told them they should not have killed the spider because if the spider had been allowed to live then so would the soldier. He then explained that until midnight he was God and had the power to kill or to spare. He would do his best, he told them, but they should not have killed the spider.
The healer went to a rubber tree and picked a green branch then he rubbed kerosene on the bite. He proceeded to rub the rubber branch up and down the bitten soldier’s arm while chanting.
They never found out what kind of spider it was but the patient recovered and was wary of spiders after that.


Gilbert’s second story, titled “A ‘Roo in Malaya” is about a small kangaroo who was smuggled into Malaya by the 8th Division. He was put in a large wooden box and carried by train from Bathurst to the harbour then ferried across to the transport ship.Nobody knew except for the Medical Officer who kept their secret. Once they were out to sea, the kangaroo was taken out on the deck and “became a prime favorite with the troops.” Named ‘Joey’, the kangaroo was smuggled ashore in Singapore and “became quite a feature of the Malay landscape.” Unfortunately, he fell down a concrete drain and broke his leg. Although he was taken to the vet and had his leg put in plaster, he began to pine away and eventually was put down.
Gilbert concluded by describing the effect of Joey’s death on the troops:
“He was Australia’s first casualty in Malaya and to those boys who were sweating and toiling in unfamiliar jungles, it was as though they had lost a bit of home.
Somewhere in Malaya there is a grave and above it is a headstone inscribed simply: ‘Joey the Kangaroo, A.I.F, 1941’”
from “Soldiering On” 1942, Australian War Memorial