On 17 September 1963, the Malaysian Government formally severed relations with Indonesia and the Philippines. Malaysian demonstrators from the ruling United Malays National Organisation's youth wing also ransacked the Indonesian Embassy in Kuala Lumpur, stealing and desecrating the Indonesian national emblem. News reports of these developments further enraged public opinion in Indonesia. On 18 September, which fell on Ash Wednesday, the Indonesian demonstrators returned to the British Embassy and began burning its contents and tried to seize British documents. At that time, Gilchrist was returning from lunch with Walker, and ordering the latter to save the car they were driving, he joined twenty-two other British Embassy staff huddled in a corner of the compound. There, they remained for several hours while the building was ransacked and burnt by the demonstrators. During this incident, Gilchrist recalled being hit twice by bottles and stones hurled by the Indonesian demonstrators. Due to the large crowd, it took several hours for the police and fire service to breach the embassy compound and evacuate the diplomats to a safer area.