Martin Coles Harman (1885 – 5 December 1954) was an English businessman who, in 1925, bought the island of

Lundy Lundy is an English island in the Bristol Channel. It forms part of the district of Torridge in the county of Devon. About long and wide, Lundy has had a long and turbulent history, frequently changing hands between the British crown and ...

. Born in

Steyning Steyning ( ) is a town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in the Horsham District, Horsham district of West Sussex, England. It is located at the north end of the River Adur gap in the South Downs, north of the coastal town of Shoreha ...

Sussex Sussex (Help:IPA/English, /ˈsʌsɪks/; from the Old English ''Sūþseaxe''; lit. 'South Saxons'; 'Sussex') is an area within South East England that was historically a kingdom of Sussex, kingdom and, later, a Historic counties of England, ...

and educated at

Whitgift School Whitgift School is an independent day school with limited boarding in South Croydon, London. Along with Trinity School of John Whitgift and Old Palace School it is owned by the Whitgift Foundation, a charitable trust. The school was prev ...

Croydon Croydon is a large town in South London, England, south of Charing Cross. Part of the London Borough of Croydon, a Districts of England, local government district of Greater London; it is one of the largest commercial districts in Greater Lond ...

, Harman had six brothers and five sisters. At the age of 16, he left school to work for

Lazard Lazard Inc. (formerly known as Lazard Ltd and Lazard Frères & Co.) is a financial advisory and asset management firm that engages in investment banking, asset management and other financial services, primarily with institutional clients. It i ...

, and became an influential figure in early 20th-century corporate finance in the

City of London The City of London, also known as ''the City'', is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county and Districts of England, local government district with City status in the United Kingdom, city status in England. It is the Old town, his ...

. In 1913, he married Amy Ruth Harman (), and, in June 1919, Mr Harman moved to Chaldon, Surrey, where he lived with his wife and their four children. In 1926, he donated land he owned in the village to the

National Trust The National Trust () is a heritage and nature conservation charity and membership organisation in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. The Trust was founded in 1895 by Octavia Hill, Sir Robert Hunter and Hardwicke Rawnsley to "promote the ...

which was subsequently named "Six Brothers Field" at his request. Harman bought Lundy island and its supply boat the MV ''Lerina'' in 1925 for £25,000 (). In 1927, the GPO ended postal services to the island. For the next two years, Harman handled, and covered the costs of all the island's postage himself. On 1 November 1929, Harman introduced his own "Puffin" stamps to offset this cost. One Puffin is equivalent to one English penny, and printing of the stamps continues today covering the cost of shipping to the mainland, and postage in the UK and abroad. He later issued an independent Lundy currency of half Puffin and one Puffin coins, which were nominally equivalent to the British halfpenny and

penny A penny is a coin (: pennies) or a unit of currency (: pence) in various countries. Borrowed from the Carolingian denarius (hence its former abbreviation d.), it is usually the smallest denomination within a currency system. At present, it is ...

. This resulted in his prosecution by UK authorities for issuing illegal coinage under the Coinage Act of 1870. He was found guilty in 1931, and was fined £5 () with fifteen guineas (£15 15s) expenses (). The coins were withdrawn and have since become collectors' items. In 1928, Harman established the Lundy pony. By 1928, Harman controlled a portfolio of companies worth an estimated £12 million. However, in 1931, his wife Amy died of kidney failure aged 47, and one year later Harman was declared bankrupt. As Lundy had been held in trust, Harman was able to keep his ownership of the island despite his bankruptcy. In November 1933, Harman was found guilty on charges of

conspiracy to defraud Conspiracy to defraud is an offence under the common law of England and Wales and Northern Ireland. England and Wales The standard definition of a conspiracy to defraud was provided by Lord Dilhorne in ''Scott v Metropolitan Police Commissioner' ...

in connection with a Korean syndicate, and was sentenced to 18 months in prison. Harman's son, John Pennington Harman was awarded a posthumous

Victoria Cross The Victoria Cross (VC) is the highest and most prestigious decoration of the Orders, decorations, and medals of the United Kingdom, British decorations system. It is awarded for valour "in the presence of the enemy" to members of the British ...

Kohima Kohima (; Tenyidie: Kewhira ()) is the capital of the North East Indian state of Nagaland. With a resident population of almost 100,000, it is the second largest city in the state. Kohima constitutes both a district and a municipality. The m ...

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

in 1944. There is a memorial to him at the "VC Quarry" on the east side of Lundy.

References

Bibliography

* * * * * * * * * * * *

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Harman, Martin Coles 1885 births 1954 deaths People educated at Whitgift School Heads of state of states with limited recognition Lundy Self-proclaimed monarchy 20th-century English businesspeople