Virtual
War Memorial
Australia

Excerpt from Blood Sweat and Fears: Medical Practitioners and Medical Students of South Australian who Served in World War 1. Courtesy of the Authors

Gilbert Brown was born in Wigan, Lancashire England on 14th August 1883. He graduated with MB ChB, University of Liverpool, in 1908.  This was followed as a House Surgeon and House Physician at the Royal Infirmary, Liverpool House Surgeon at the Hospital for Women and SMO at the Children’s Infirmary, Liverpool. He migrated to Australia in 1912, first joining a practice as surgeon to the medical group at Snowtown. He married Dr Marie Simpson, a medical graduate from London University, in 1914. They lived at 31 Watson Ave, Rose Park. When war broke out in 1914 he continued with the General Practice whilst all other members of the practice enlisted and by 1918 he was able to enlist. 

Brown enlisted in the AIF on 16th July 1918. He was described as 5ft 10ins weighed 185lbs, chest 34-40ins, of fair complexion with brown eyes and brown hair. He could ride, spoke some French and had 4 years previous service with the voluntary engineers. He was recommended for general duties on 11th September 1918 and sailed in HMAT Boonah from Port Adelaide on 22nd October 1918 bound for the England via Fremantle and South Africa; she was the last Australian troop ship to leave Australia in WW1. Carrying about 1200 AIF soldiers, she arrived in Durban, South Africa just three days after the armistice was signed and on hearing the news, made arrangements to return home promptly. Before her departure however, local stevedores from the Spanish Flu stricken city of Durban were used to load and unload supplies from the ship and in the course of doing so infected soldiers who were billeted in crowded conditions throughout the ship. By the time the ship had arrived back at Fremantle on 12th December, more than 300 cases had been reported and Commonwealth immigration authorities initially refused to allow the soldiers to disembark. Meanwhile, on board ship, where most of the men remained, conditions were said to be deplorable. Public outrage grew against the refusal of the immigration authorities to allow all of the soldiers ashore with casualties growing each day. After nine days of acrimony, and despite breaking quarantine regulations, the ship was ordered to depart for Adelaide, presumably to defuse the situation, and the sick disembarked at the Quarantine Station just north of Adelaide. No further deaths occurred and after being given the all-clear, the remaining men returned to their homes. A total of twenty-seven soldiers and four nurses at Woodman Point, Western Australia died of influenza during the crisis. His appointment was terminated in September 1919.

On return to Adelaide Brown and his wife moved to Walkerville Terrace, Gilberton where they both practised. Brown was a pioneer of modern anaesthesia in Australia with appointments at Adelaide Children’s Hospital, the Adelaide Hospital and the Repatriation Hospital when it was at Keswick. From the beginning of this career he kept records of all the anaesthetics that he had undertaken with comments on the procedures. All his records were bound in annual volumes and have been retained. His influence of the progress of anaesthesia in South Australia was profound. He was the first president of the Australian Society of Anaesthetists (ASA). His wife Marie died on 21st November 1949. He was appointed CBE in 1953 and also Officer Brother of the Venerable Order of St John of Jerusalem. Gilbert Brown died on 6th January 1960 and was survived by his son Ian.

The Gilbert Brown Award, by the ASA and Gilbert Brown Prize by ANZCA are given annually in his memory