Malaya, January 1942: two 2/15th Field Regt gunners place a stuffed mascot on a truck.
note the 8th Div’s emu sign partly visible on the mudguard at far right. In all their campaigns the Australian artillery operated in hot climates, so gun crews
often fought shirtless. As non-infantrymen both soldiers have been issued 37 Pattern webbing ‘cartridge carriers’ in place of basic pouches. Gunner Martin (left) would be one of the nearly 8,000 Australian prisoners of war to die in Japanese captivity. (Australian War Memorial 011303/31)