Profile

MARTIN, Ernest Tronchet
(Service number 34703)

Ernest Martin, circa 1916 — (Courtesy of G Martin, South Canterbury Museum L2015/025.01)

Temuka War Memorial, pictured in 2007 — (South Canterbury Museum 2013/155.25 #01)

Temuka War Memorial dedication inscription, pictured in 2007 — (South Canterbury Museum 2013/155.25 #05)

Temuka War Memorial plaque, names G-M, pictured in 2007 — (South Canterbury Museum )

Opihi College Roll of Honour — Made by Opihi College teacher David Ellena, 2015 (Courtesy of Kate Manson, Opihi College )

Aliases
First Rank	Private	Last Rank	Private

Birth

Date	01/11/1896	Place of Birth	Temuka

Enlistment Information

Date	23 August 1916	Age	19
Address at Enlistment	Shaw Street, Temuka
Occupation	Painter
Previous Military Experience
Marital Status
Next of Kin	Mrs A. Martin,(Mother), Shaw St., Temuka, New Zealand
Religion	Methodist
Medical Information

Military Service

Served with	NZ Armed Forces	Served in	Army
Military District

Embarkation Information

Body on Embarkation	New Zealand Expeditionary Force
Unit, Squadron, or Ship	20th Reinforcements, Canterbury Infantry Battalion, C Company
Date	12 July 1916
Transport	Port Lyttelton - Ship
Embarked From	Wellington	Destination	Plymouth, England

Other Units Served With
Last Unit Served With	Canterbury Infantry Regiment

Military Awards

Campaigns	Western Europe 1917
Service Medals
Military Awards

Award Circumstances and Date

No information

Prisoner of War Information

Date of Capture
Where Captured and by Whom
Actions Prior to Capture
PoW Serial Number
PoW Camps
Days Interned
Liberation Date

Discharge

Date		Reason

Hospitals, Wounds, Diseases and Illnesses

Post-war Occupations

Death

Date	30 January 1918	Age	21
Place of Death	At sea crossing to France
Cause	Died of General tuberculosis
Notices
Memorial or Cemetery	Canterbury Provincial Memorial, Ruru Cemetery, Christchurch, New Zealand. This memorial is for those whose burial site is unknown or for those buried at sea.
Memorial Reference
New Zealand Memorials	On Memorial wall, Timaru; Temuka RSA Roll of Honour; Temuka War Memorial

Biographical Notes

Ninth child of Charles Alexander and Sarah Martin, 57 Shaw St, Temuka. Brother of Charles John (b.1884), Alexander Amos (b.1886), Arthur Daniel (b.1888), Josephine Emma (b.1889), Florence Ethel (1891), Mabel Sarah (b.1892), Gertrude Ellen (b.1893), Adrian Maude (b.1895), Albert Edward (b.1898), Frederick Mafeking (b.1900), Pretoria May (b.1901), Ada (b.1903), Eric Campbell (b.1906), and Victor Alan (b.1909).

Ernest gave his birth date as 11 March 1895 on enlistment, shaving a year from his actual birthdate. His older sister was born on 18 August 1895, which would have made his mother's pregnancy an amazingly short 5 months! Presumably he increased his age in order to enlist. Both Ernest's brother in-law, Albert Henry Austin, and his brother, Arthur Daniel Martin, also served in the war.

Sources

Auckland War Memorial Cenotaph Database (Oct 2013); CWGC (Oct 2013); NZ War Graves (Oct 2013); NZBDM1896/10344 (with his name misspelt as Ernest Franchie MARTIN); SCroll submission (in person) by G F Martin, 16 June 2015

External Links

Military personnel file

Researched and Written by

Janette Clarke, SC branch NZSG

Currently Assigned to

JCl

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