William John Martin (1278)

Personal Information
Date of Birth	22 May 1898
Place of Birth	Dartford, Kent, England
Death	8 Mar 1958, aged 59
Place of Death	Armadale, Western Australia
Age at Enlistment	17 years, 1 month
Description	5' 4" (1.063m) tall; weight 139 lbs (63 kg); fair complexion, blue eyes, dark complexion.
Occupation	brick maker
Religion	Baptist
Address	Beenup, Western Australia
Next of Kin	Father Mr Lewis Arthur Martin
Military Information
Reg Number	1278
Date of Enlistment	18 Jun 1915
Rank	Private
Unit/Formation	10th Light Horse Regiment, 9th Reinforcement / 3rd Light Horse Brigade, ANZAC Mounted Div
Date of Embarkation	4 Oct 1915 - 27 Oct 1915
Ship Embarked On	HMAT A20 Hororata
Date of Return	10 Jul 1919 - 4 Aug 1919
Ship Returned On	SS Oxfordshire from Kantara
Fate	Returned to Australia
Monument	Armadale War Memorial (Beenup panel)
Medals	1914-15 Star British War Medal Victory Medal

War Service

Trained in Australia first with the 9th reinforcement draft for the 10th Light Horse, then the 10th draft, and back to the 9th draft, before travelling to Egypt with them.

In Egypt spent several months in the Light Horse Training unit and then on 26 Feb 1916 he was transferred from Base Depot in Heliopolis to Serapeum where he joined the 10th Light Horse Depot. Between 9 - 15 Jul 1916 he was treated in Serapeum by 3rd Light Horse Field Ambulance with diarrhoea, before joining the unit proper on 9 Sep 1916 at Hod El Aras south west of Romani.

His first clash with military law took place at Masaid on 26 Jan 1917 when he used intemperate language towards an Officer. From 24 Apr until 11 May 1917 he was hospitalised with dyspepsia, being transferred from the 3rd Light Horse Field Ambulance to the 26th Casualty Clearing Station and then on to the 14th Australian General Hospital at Abbassia. When discharged from the hospital he joined the 3rd Light Horse Training Regiment at Moascar. Over the next few months he had two cases of AWOL dealt with to his detriment, before he finally rejoined his unit on 23 Jun 1917.

Again unwell in Jun 1918, he was treated at 3rd Light Horse Field Ambulance and the 76th Casualty Clearing Station before entering the 47th Stationary Hospital in Kantara and the 14th Australian General Hospital in Abbassia. He doesn't appear to rejoin his unit in the field after June 1918 and seems not to have been writing home often as there is a query from Miss L Martin from the Whitby Hotel, Mundijong in July 1918 concerning his whereabouts.

Discharged 5th Military District on 23 Nov 1919.

Post War

In 1921 married Violet Maud Coxhead. Electoral Roll entries: 1922 - 1925 labourer, Armadale; 1928 - 1943 Clifton road, Byford, labourer; 1949 -1954 Eleventh avenue Armadale, brickmaker.

On 29 May 1942 William enlisted in the Royal Australian Air Force as an aircraftman, and later served as a cook, serving with Number 80743 until 18 Jan 1946.

Notes

Two alternate dates of birth, both gleaned from his WW2 records: 6 Jun 1899 (Ancestry.com) and 22 May 1898. Adopting the earlier birth date means he was still just 17 at the time of his WW1 enlistment.

External Links

• AIF Project
• RSL Virtual War Memorial