| Regimental number | 2429 |
| Place of birth | Sale, Victoria |
| School | Sale State School, Victoria |
| Religion | Church of England |
| Occupation | Hairdresser |
| Address | Sale, Victoria |
| Marital status | Single |
| Age at embarkation | 18.8 |
| Height | 5' 3" |
| Weight | 130 lbs |
| Next of kin | Father, Thomas Martin, Sale, Victoria |
| Previous military service | Served for 4 years in the Senior Cadets; still serving at time of AIF enlistment. |
| Enlistment date | |
| Rank on enlistment | Private |
| Unit name | 37th Battalion, 4th Reinforcement |
| AWM Embarkation Roll number | 23/54/2 |
| Embarkation details | Unit embarked from Melbourne, Victoria, on board HMAT A17 Port Lincoln on |
| Regimental number from Nominal Roll | 2429B |
| Rank from Nominal Roll | Private |
| Unit from Nominal Roll | 37th Battalion |
| Fate | Killed in Action |
| Place of death or wounding | France |
| Age at death | 20.7 |
| Place of burial | No known grave |
| Commemoration details | Australian National Memorial, Villers-Bretonneux, France Villers-Bretonneux is a village about 15 km east of Amiens. The Memorial stands on the high ground ('Hill 104') behind the Villers-Bretonneux Military Cemetery, Fouilloy, which is about 2 km north of Villers-Bretonneux on the east side of the road to Fouilloy. The Australian National Memorial, Villers-Bretonneux is approached through the Military Cemetery, at the end of which is an open grass lawn which leads into a three-sided court. The two pavilions on the left and right are linked by the north and south walls to the back (east) wall, from which rises the focal point of the Memorial, a 105 foot tall tower, of fine ashlar. A staircase leads to an observation platform, 64 feet above the ground, from which further staircases lead to an observation room. This room contains a circular stone tablet with bronze pointers indicating the Somme villages whose names have become synonymous with battles of the Great War; other battle fields in France and Belgium in which Australians fought; and far beyond, Gallipoli and Canberra. On the three walls, which are faced with Portland stone, are the names of 10,885 Australians who were killed in France and who have no known grave. The 'blocking course' above them bears the names of the Australian Battle Honours. After the war an appeal in Australia raised £22,700, of which £12,500 came from Victorian school children, with the request that the majority of the funds be used to build a new school in Villers-Bretonneux. The boys' school opened in May 1927, and contains an inscription stating that the school was the gift of Victorian schoolchildren, twelve hundred of whose fathers are buried in the Villers-Bretonneux cemetery, with the names of many more recorded on the Memorial. Villers-Bretonneux is now twinned with Robinvale, Victoria, which has in its main square a memorial to the links between the two towns. |
| Panel number, Roll of Honour, Australian War Memorial | 128 |
| Miscellaneous information from cemetery records | Parents: Thomas and Ellen MARTIN, Sale, Victoria |
| Family/military connections | Editor's note: Descendants wrote to the AIF Project to say that although the AIF Project listed his age at attestation as 18, 'the whole family' knew that he was only 16, a 'fact confirmed by the by the military who had written a large blue '16' on the front of his attestation form. A quick survey of other files put paid to this: one file had '97' written in large blue writing on the attestation form - hardly an indication of that particular man's age. The enquirer/complainant was not convinced: 'the whole family knows.' So it was pointed out that when the soldier was killed in action two years later, his father - surely in a position to know - said his age at death was 20, i.e. when he enlisted two years prior, he was 18. No, 'the whole family knows, and thank goodness my grandmother is not alive to read your offensive comments'. So the next step was to look up his birth certificate: he was born in 1898 and enlisted in 1916, making him 18 at the time. The correspondent's reply:'Stick to your records because this family have our facts and the word of his Brothers and Sisters. They are worth more than records.' |
| Other details |
War service: Western Front Embarked Melbourne, 20 October 1916; transferred to HT 'Borda', Sierra Leone, 2 December 1916; disembarked Plymouth, England, 9 January 1917; marched into 10th Training Bn, 10 January 1917. Proceeded overseas to France, 20 November 1917; taken on strength, 37th Bn, in the field, 29 November 1917, and allotted Regimental No 2429B. Killed in action, 12 August 1918. Buried in isolated grave, .75 mle S. of Proyart; 9.25 mls ESE of Corbie; grave subsequently lost. Medals: British War Medal, Victory Medal |
| Sources | NAA: B2455, MARTIN Thomas |
Postal Address:
Po Box 7916
Canberra BC 2610, Australia
Street Address:
Northcott Drive,
Campbell, ACT 2600
