James Martin (Australian Soldier)
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James Charles Martin (3 January 1901 – 25 October 1915) was the youngest
Australian Australian(s) may refer to: Australia * Australia, a country * Australians, citizens of the Commonwealth of Australia ** European Australians ** Anglo-Celtic Australians, Australians descended principally from British colonists ** Aboriginal Aus ...
known to have died in the
First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
. He was only 14 years and nine months old when he succumbed to
typhoid Typhoid fever, also known simply as typhoid, is a disease caused by ''Salmonella enterica'' serotype Typhi bacteria, also called ''Salmonella'' Typhi. Symptoms vary from mild to severe, and usually begin six to 30 days after exposure. Often ther ...
during the Gallipoli campaign. He was one of 20 Australian soldiers under the age of 18 known to have died in the First World War.


Early life

James Martin was born to Amelia and Charles Martin on 3 January 1901 in
Tocumwal Tocumwal ( ) is a town in the southern Riverina region of New South Wales, Australia, in the Berrigan Shire Local government in Australia, local government area. The town, north of the city of Melbourne, lies on the northern bank of the Murray ...
, New South Wales. His father was born Charles Marks, in
Auckland Auckland ( ; ) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. It has an urban population of about It is located in the greater Auckland Region, the area governed by Auckland Council, which includes outlying rural areas and ...
, New Zealand; however, after emigrating to
Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...
and settling in Tocumwal, he changed his name to Martin to avoid discrimination for being Jewish. Charles worked as a
grocer A grocery store (American English, AE), grocery shop or grocer's shop (British English, BE) or simply grocery is a retail store that primarily retails a general range of food Product (business), products, which may be Fresh food, fresh or Food p ...
,
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and (horse-drawn) cab driver, while Amelia was born in
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in 1876 to Thomas and Frances Park. Her parents had emigrated to
Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...
during the
gold rush A gold rush or gold fever is a discovery of gold—sometimes accompanied by other precious metals and rare-earth minerals—that brings an onrush of miners seeking their fortune. Major gold rushes took place in the 19th century in Australia, ...
in the 1850s. The youngest of twelve children, she married Charles just before her 18th birthday. Martin's family moved to many different suburbs in and around
Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...
before finally settling in Hawthorn in 1910.Hill 2001, p. 16. He was the third of six children, and the only son. He attended Manningtree Road State School from 1910 to 1915, during which time he also received basic military training as a junior cadet under the compulsory training scheme.


First World War

After the outbreak of the
First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
, Martin enlisted in the Australian Imperial Force on 12 April 1915, against the wishes of his family. His parents finally agreed however when he made it clear that he would sign on under an assumed name and never write to them if they did not consent. He gave a false date of birth to the recruiting officer, claiming to be 18, when he was actually 14 years and three months. His father had earlier tried to enlist but had been rejected as being too old. Martin joined the 1st Reinforcements of the 21st Battalion as a
private Private or privates may refer to: Music * "In Private", by Dusty Springfield from the 1990 album ''Reputation'' * Private (band), a Denmark-based band * "Private" (Ryōko Hirosue song), from the 1999 album ''Private'', written and also recorded ...
and trained in
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and
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(later
Puckapunyal Puckapunyal (more formally the Puckapunyal Military Area, but also known as the Puckapunyal Camp or Puckapunyal Army Base, and colloquially as "Pucka") is an Australian Army training facility and base 10 km west of Seymour, Victoria, Seym ...
) camps in
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before starting to board HMAT ''Berrima'' in June 1915 to deploy to
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, arriving there in late July. In late August, following the failed August Offensive, he was sent to
Gallipoli The Gallipoli Peninsula (; ; ) is located in the southern part of East Thrace, the European part of Turkey, with the Aegean Sea to the west and the Dardanelles strait to the east. Gallipoli is the Italian form of the Greek name (), meaning ' ...
on the steamer HMT ''Southland'', to take part in the fighting against the Turks, which had by that time developed into a bloody stalemate. En route, ''Southland'' was torpedoed by a German submarine off the island of
Lemnos Lemnos ( ) or Limnos ( ) is a Greek island in the northern Aegean Sea. Administratively the island forms a separate municipality within the Lemnos (regional unit), Lemnos regional unit, which is part of the North Aegean modern regions of Greece ...
and Martin was rescued after spending four hours in the water. After being picked up, he rejoined his battalion at Mudros Island where they were transferred to the transport ship ''Abassieh'' on 7 September to resume their voyage to Gallipoli. The following morning, just before 2:00 am, Martin's platoon, 4 Platoon, landed at Watson's Pier in Anzac Cove. He then served in trenches around Courtney's Post, which was positioned on the ridge overlooking Monash Valley. During this time he wrote to his family telling them that "the Turks are still about away from us" and asked them not to worry about him as "I am doing splendid over here". Throughout his time in Gallipoli, although his family were writing to him, Martin did not receive any letters from home due to a breakdown in the mail system. As the campaign dragged on, winter approached and the weather on the Gallipoli Peninsula began to take its toll on the soldiers in the trenches. Following a period of cold temperatures and heavy rain Martin contracted
enteric fever Enteric fever is a medical term encompassing two types of salmonellosis, which, specifically, are typhoid fever and paratyphoid fever. Enteric fever is a potentially life-threatening acute febrile systemic infection and is diagnosed by isolating ...
in the trenches. After suffering mild symptoms for about a fortnight during which time he refused treatment, he was subsequently evacuated to the
hospital ship A hospital ship is a ship designated for primary function as a floating healthcare, medical treatment facility or hospital. Most are operated by the military forces (mostly navy, navies) of various countries, as they are intended to be used in or ...
on 25 October 1915 after he developed diarrhoea. He died of heart failure that night, at the age of 14 and nine months, and was
buried at sea Burial at sea is the disposal of human remains in the ocean, normally from a ship, boat or aircraft. It is regularly performed by navies, and is done by private citizens in many countries. Burial-at-sea services are conducted at many different ...
the next day. At the time of his death only Martin's parents and his best friend, Cec Hogan—who was himself only 16—knew Martin's real age. Nevertheless, on 18 December 1915, Melbourne's ''Herald'' newspaper reported Martin's death in an article titled "Youngest Soldier Dies". Although he was the youngest known AIF soldier killed during the war, Martin was likely not the youngest soldier to have enlisted. Albert Dunnicliff is believed to have enlisted a week before his 14th birthday, and served for 16 months, including a period on the Western Front, before being discharged.


Honours and awards

Martin was awarded the
1914–15 Star The 1914–15 Star is a campaign medal of the British Empire which was awarded to all who served in the British and Imperial forces in any theatre of the First World War against the Central European Powers during 1914 and 1915. The medal was n ...
, the
British War Medal The British War Medal is a campaign medal of the United Kingdom which was awarded to officers and men and women of British and Imperial forces for service in the First World War. Two versions of the medal were produced. About 6.5 million were st ...
, and the Victory Medal. His name is recorded on the
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to the missing at Gallipoli, and on the
Australian War Memorial The Australian War Memorial (AWM) is a national war memorial, war museum, museum and archive dedicated to all Australians who died as a result of war, including peacekeeping duties. The AWM is located in Campbell, Australian Capital Territory, C ...
's Roll of Honour in
Canberra Canberra ( ; ) is the capital city of Australia. Founded following the Federation of Australia, federation of the colonies of Australia as the seat of government for the new nation, it is Australia's list of cities in Australia, largest in ...
.


Notes


References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Martin, James 1901 births 1915 deaths Australian military personnel killed in World War I Child soldiers in World War I Australian people of Jewish descent Australian people of New Zealand descent Burials at sea Australian Army soldiers Children killed in World War I Military personnel from New South Wales People from the Riverina