James Charles Martin
3 January 1901 - 25 October 1915 (aged 14)
Studio portrait of 1553 Private James Martin
Nickname	Jim
Place of birth	Tocumwal, New South Wales
Place of death	At Sea, off ANZAC Cove
Allegiance	First Australian Imperial Force
Rank	Private
Battles/wars	Gallipoli
Awards	1914-15 Star, British War Medal, Victory Medal

James Charles (Jim) Martin (3 January 1901 - 25 October 1915) is the youngest Australian known to have died in war, being fourteen years, nine months old.^[1] He was one of 20 known Australian soldiers under the age of eighteen to die in World War I.^[2] he signed up for war at the age of 14 and 3 months.

[edit] Early life

James was born to Amelia and Charles Martin. Charles Martin was born Charles Marks, in Auckland, New Zealand, to Jewish parents. After emigrating to Australia and settling in Tocumwal, New South Wales he changed his name to Martin to avoid discrimination against Jews. Amelia Martin was born in Bendigo in 1876 to Thomas and Frances Park. Her parents had emigrated to Australia during the gold rush in the 1850s. Amelia was the youngest of twelve children. Amelia married Charles just before her 18th birthday.^{[citation needed]}

James was born in Tocumwal, the third of six children and the only son, into a hard life. The family moved to many different suburbs in and around Melbourne, before finally settling in 1915 in Hawthorn. Jim enrolled in Glenferrie State School from 1910 to 1915. The sole family income was provided by his father, Charles, grocer, handyman and (horse-drawn) cab driver.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] World War I

At the outbreak of World War I, and against the wishes of his family, he enlisted in the Australian Imperial Force on 21 April 1915. His parents finally agreed when he made it clear 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 eighteen, when he was actually fourteen years and three months.^[1]

He joined the 1st Reinforcements of the 21st Battalion as a Private and trained in Broadmeadows and Seymour (later Puckapunyal) camps in Victoria before boarding HMAT Berrima in June 1915 to deploy to Egypt.^[1] In late August 1915, he was sent from there to Gallipoli on the steamer HMT Southland. En route, his ship was torpedoed by a German submarine off the island of Lemnos. He was rescued after spending four hours in the water.^[1][3]

Private Martin landed on 8 September 1915. He was stationed with his battalion in the trenches near Courtney's Post on the ridge above the Monash Valley. He wrote to his family that "the Turks are still about 70 yards (64 m) away from us" and asked them not to worry about him as "I am doing splendid over here".^[1] during his time in Gallipoli, he didn't get one letter from his family or friends.

Martin contracted enteric fever (typhoid) in the trenches and was evacuated on 25 October 1915 to the hospital ship Glenart Castle.^[1] He died of heart failure that evening, at the age of fourteen and nine months, and was buried at sea the next day. His parents were devistated and nobody new he was actually 14 besides his family and his best friend, Cec Hogan, who was also a schoolboy fighting in the war but 16 years of age.

[edit] Honours and awards

He was awarded the 1914-15 Star, the British War Medal, and the Victory Medal. His name is recorded on the Australian memorial at Lone Pine^[1] and on the Australian War Memorial roll of honour in Canberra.

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Digital service record for James Martin Serial Number 1553, National Archives of Australia
  • Scanned image of service record (NAA Ref:D11663 60)
• Australian War Memorial Collection:
  • "Martin, James Charles (Jim), 1901–15" Biography (web page)
  • P00069.001: Portrait of Jim Martin
  • WWI "roll", Folder:33 Page:85, Entry for: 1553 Pte MARTIN James
  • PR83/061: Letter, dated 9 Oct 1915, by Martin to his parents
  • PR85/339: Wallet containing letters 1915-1920
  • PR85/382: Letter, dated 26 Aug 1915, by Martin to his parents
  • PR01733: 3 wallets of research notes compiled by Anthony Hill while writing "Soldier Boy"
  • REL/13040: Souvenir embroidered cushion cover from Egypt 1915
  • REL/13269: Victory Medal c.1920
  • REL28919.001: 1914-1915 Star c.1920
  • REL28919.002: British War Medal 1914-20 c.1920
  • REL28920: Anzac Medallion 1967
  • See also: "Their Spirit, Our History", 45 page booklet regarding the ANZACs