Gemas Day 2026

18/1/2026

The 84th Anniversary of the Battle of Gemas was commemorated by the 2/30th Battalion AIF Association at the Suakin Barracks, Pymble, on 18 January 2026. The 2/30th were a part of Australia's 8th Division sent to defend Malaya and Singapore, and ended up amongst the 15,000 Australians captured in the Fall of Singapore on 15 February 1942. But one month earlier, the men of the 2/30th had engaged Japanese forces near Gemas and the Australians had won the day.

Although we rightly remember Milne Bay and Kokoda as the first decisive defeats of the Japanese on land during the War, it was at Gemas that Australian soldiers first met and halted an advancing Japanese Army. And yet - the battle is all but forgotten by the world.

But it has was never forgotten by the survivors and now widows, descendants and families of those who fought. They still gather annually for the 2/30th Battalion Association's Gemas Day commemoration. The ambush at the bridge over the Gemencheh River, beyond Gemas in Malaya, took place on 14th January 1942. In the two day battle, the Australians inflicted the first defeat of the War on the Japanese, with over 1000 Japanese killed to less than 50 Australians killed and wounded.

Apart from guerrilla activities of Rose Force ahead of the confrontation, the action was the first time that Australian soldiers fought the Japanese soldiers in World War Two. The Australians "fought with a bravery we had not previously seen," declared Masanobu Tsuji, chief of staff under Japan's General Tomoyuki Yamashita, the "Tiger of Malaya".

Of 1049 men of the Battalion forced to surrender, some 310 went on to die in captivity as prisoners of war of the Japanese between 1942 and 1945. They suffered high mortality rates due to disease, malnutrition, and brutal treatment while working on the Burma-Thailand railway and other forced labor projects. The 734 survivors chose to commemorate their wartime experiences, not on the day of Capture or Liberation, but on "Gemas Day", the the day they fought - and defeated - the previously unstoppable Imperial Japanese Army.

At Suakin Barracks on 18 February, over 80 people attended the commemoration, which was brought in under cover from the parade ground amid torrential rain. Association President, Kerry Gilbert, led the commemoration, with guest speaker Dr Roger Selby, sharing his reflections of battalion commander "Black Jack" Galleghan. A tribute to Private Richard Arthur Sands, who was killed in the battle, was read by Matt Cross MLA, Member for Davidson. Remembrance of the victims of the Bondi Terror Attack was also offered.

Two of the last remaining widows of the heroes of the 2/30th were also honoured guests in attendance.

The soldiers of the 2/17th Battalion RNSWR hosted the gathering at the barracks and participated in the ceremony, with musical accompaniment by the men of the Scottish Pipes and Drums.

I was pleased to attend as photographer to record the day.

Lest We Forget.