Virtual
War Memorial
Australia

From Australian Remembrance Army

Private Gilbert James Hart (Service Nos. WWI 2915A, WWII Q186703), an Australian veteran of both World Wars, is among almost 800 previously unmarked WWI veterans’ graves in Lutwyche Cemetery we have now marked with a plaque recognising their service for Australia.

We unveiled his plaque in Lutwyche Cemetery on 23 September 2023, along with a further 300 plaques on the previously unmarked graves of Australian World War One veterans:
See Australian Remembrance Army Facebook page

Gilbert James Hart was born on 7 July 1890 in Warwick, Qld, to George Parsons Hart and Mary Hart (née Muir). He enlisted in the Australian Imperial Force on 6 January 1916 and joined the 31st Battalion, 8th Reinforcements. He sailed from Australia in April 1916 aboard H.M.T. Ceramic, arriving first in Egypt and then moving on to England before being sent to France in September of that year. Soon after reaching the Western Front, he became seriously ill, suffering from severe diarrhoea and exhaustion. On 17 November 1916 he was evacuated to the 3rd London General Hospital, where he was diagnosed with shell shock, and his mother in Queensland was formally notified of his condition.

Over the next two years he moved repeatedly through hospitals and convalescent depots in France and England, including the 14th Field Ambulance, the 2nd New Zealand Field Ambulance, the 6th General Hospital at Rouen, and later through medical facilities at Weymouth, Hurdcott, Dartford, Boulogne, Harve, and Exeter. His health never fully recovered, and by late 1917 he was also suffering from chronic gastric ulcers in addition to the effects of shell shock. Although he attempted to return to duty on several occasions, he remained unfit for sustained service and his medical condition continued to decline.

Eventually he was judged medically unfit for further military service. He was officially discharged from the First World War on 30 October 1918, well before the conflict ended, because of the lasting physical and psychological injuries he had sustained.

More than twenty years later, despite the lingering effects of his wartime illnesses, Gilbert enlisted again when the Second World War began. He joined the Army on 6 October 1939 in Brisbane, listing his civilian occupation as labourer and cook. He served within Australia with the 8th Military District Provost Platoon, undertaking cook duties, guard work, and various administrative and policing tasks. During the early 1940s he was repeatedly graded as a cook, transferred between depots, and in December 1941 was promoted to acting corporal.

By 1942 and 1943 the health problems that had troubled him since the First World War began to resurface, and he was transferred through a series of units and medical facilities as his condition gradually worsened. Eventually he was no longer able to carry out his duties, and he was discharged in February 1944.

Gilbert married Alice Hindle in 1921 and later married Maria Wilhelmine (Mollie) Mosetter, with whom he had one son, Raymond Stanley Hart. Over the years he lived in Warwick, Pittsworth, and Brisbane.

Private Gilbert James Hart died on 22 October 1951, aged 61, and was buried three days later in Anzac Portion 8, Lutwyche Cemetery, Brisbane. The Brisbane City Council burial register records his name as James Hart Gilbert.

After decades without recognition at his place of burial, his grave now bears a plaque commemorating his service to Australia — ensuring his name endures among those remembered for their duty and sacrifice. His identity has now been restored.

We have remembered him.
Lest We Forget.