MARTIN, Andrew
(Service number 7/90)
| First Rank | Trooper | Last Rank | Second Lieutenant |
|---|
Birth
| Date | 14/08/1892 | Place of Birth | Otaio |
|---|
Enlistment Information
| Date | Age | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Address at Enlistment | Otaio | ||
| Occupation | Farmer | ||
| Previous Military Experience | |||
| Marital Status | Single | ||
| Next of Kin | Andrew Martin snr (father), Otaio | ||
Military Service
| Served with | NZ Armed Forces | Served in | Army |
|---|
Embarkation Information
| Body on Embarkation | Main Body | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Unit, Squadron, or Ship | Canterbury Mounted Rifles | ||
| Date | 16 October 1914 | ||
| Transport | HMNZT 4 Tahiti or HMNZT 11 Athenic | ||
| Embarked From | Wellington, New Zealand | Destination | |
| Other Units Served With | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Last Unit Served With | Canterbury Mounted Rifles | ||
Military Awards
| Campaigns | Egyptian 1914-1916, Balkan (Gallipoli, Mudros) 1915, Egyptian Expeditionary Force 1916-1917 | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Service Medals | 1914-15 Star, British War Medal, Victory Medal; Gallipoli lapel badge & medallion 1967 | ||
Award Circumstances and Date
Sergeant (Temp. Squadron Sergeant-Major) Andrew Martin was awarded the Distinguished Conduct Medal (DCM): "For conspicuous gallantry and devotion to duty on two ocassions. During an advance he showed great skill and daring in advance of his squadron, meeting two of the enemy and killing them single-handed. Later his coolness and gallantry were particularly noticeable while directing his men in digging in under heavy hostile shell fire." (London Gazette, 2 October 1917, p10869) Sergeant (Temp. Squadron Sergeant-Major) Andrew Martin was Mentioned in Dispatches (MiD): "For gallant and distinguished conduct in the field or for other valuable services. General AJ Murray's despatch dated 28th June 1917" (London Gazette, 12 January 1918, p804)
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 |
Death
| Date | 23 November 1982 | Age | 90 years |
|---|---|---|---|
| Place of Death | Waimate | ||
| Cause | |||
| Memorial or Cemetery | Cremated; ashes interred Waimate Cemetery | ||
| New Zealand Memorials | |||
Biographical Notes
Andrew Martin was born 14 August 1892 and attended Otaio School before joining his father on the family farm, “The Grange” in Grange Road, Otaio.
As part of the pre-war compulsory military training Andrew was a territorial soldier with the 8th South Canterbury Mounted Rifles from his 18th birthday. Although Andrew’s training finished in June 1914, he was quick to volunteer for overseas service shortly after the outbreak of the Great War on August 13th, and he left New Zealand for Egypt on 16 October 1914. He landed on Gallipoli in the first week of May 1915, and fought in the campaign until August when he was wounded in the ‘big push for Hill 971’. He was still able to walk and after a time of convalescence in England he returned to Egypt and the Mounted Rifles – just in time to help in the evacuation.
On 21st November 1917, during the Palestine campaign, Andrew was shot by a Turk. The bullet entered his left thigh, and lodged near the bottom of his spine. He was paralysed, and lay out in the open for two nights. When he was found, he was carried on the back of a camel to the rail head at Jaffa and then to hospital in Cairo. Army medics would not remove the bullet for fear of damage to the nervous system and that he may never walk again.
Andrew received a Mentioned-in-Dispatches award and on 21 November 1917 received the Distinguished Conduct Medal for “Conspicuous gallantry and devotion to duty on two occasions. During an advance, he showed great skill and daring in advance of his squadron, meeting two of the enemy and killing them single-handed. Later his coolness and gallantry were particularly noticeable while directing his men in digging-in under heavy hostile shell fire.”
In early 1918 Andrew was commissioned to the rank of Second Lieutenant. He had learned to walk again and was sent back to New Zealand on furlough. He was posted to Featherston in charge of the 44th Mounted Reinforcements, but the war ended just before he embarked for overseas again.
After the war Andrew purchased a 265 acre mixed unit farm at Morven, which he called “Rosedale”. He farmed there for over 50 years until he sold it in 1973. For 60 years the bullet lodged near Andrew’s lower spine caused him a lot of pain and discomfort. Then, when Andrew was in his late 80s he convinced doctors to remove the bullet – ‘even at the risk’. The operation was successful. The .303 nickel-plated bullet which left a Turkish rifle almost 100 years ago was retrieved and is now held by the Waimate Museum & Archives.
Andrew was active in the Waimate community, being awarded a life membership of the Waimate A and P Association and was involved with local branches of the Young Farmers Club and Federated Farmers. He was also an instructor for the Waimate Kilties senior marching team for 12 years.
Sources
Auckland War Memorial Museum Cenotaph Database (9 September 2015); Archives New Zealand, military personnel file; Martin Collection, Waimate Museum & Archives, NZ Museums at http://www.nzmuseums.co.nz/account/3188/object/543838/Martin_Collection_Ammunition_-_303_bullet_fragment (9 September 2015); Wayne McDonald "Honours and awards to the New Zealand Expeditionary Force in the Great War 1914-1918" (3rd Edition, Richard Stowers, 2013); NZ BDM Indexes (Department of Internal Affairs) [April 2020]; School Admission record (South Canterbury Branch NZSG) [07 April 2020]; Waimate Cemetery headstone image (Waimate District Council) [08 April 2020]
External Links
Related Documents
No documents available.
Researched and Written by
Tony Rippin (South Canterbury Museum); Sue Hanham, Waimate Museum & Archives; Teresa Scott, SC branch NZSG
Currently Assigned to
Not assigned.
Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License unless otherwise stated.