Edward Fowell Martin
Encyclopedia
Brigadier General
Edward Fowell Martin CB, CMG
, DSO
(22 August 1875 – 22 September 1950) was an Australian Army
Brigadier General
who served in World War I
.
on 22 August 1875. The family moved to New South Wales where Martin was educated at King's College, Goulburn
. He worked as an accountant in a bank before joining a woolbroking firm. Martin joined the Army Service Corps as a private in 1898. He was commissioned in 1903 and reached the rank of major on 1 August 1913.
(AN&MEF). The force sailed for New Guinea
on the HMAT Berrima. On 14 September 1914, he led the advance on Toma
, where the German acting governor had established his headquarters. After the German surrender, Martin landed at Madang with a half company of infantry and a half company of naval reservists for a garrison and took charge there. He was District Administrator until February 1915, after which he returned to Australia
where his appointment to the AN&MEF was terminated on 4 March 1915.
On 7 May 1915, Martin was appointed to the First Australian Imperial Force
as a major in the 17th Battalion
. The battalion left for Egypt
on 12 May 1915, where Martin became second in command of the battalion on 2 June 1915. The battalion arrived at Anzac
on 19 August 1915 where it was committed to Battle of Hill 60
on 27 to 29 August, taking many casualties. In September the battalion took over at Quinn's Post. Martin contracted dysentery and was evacuated to Egypt on 13 September 1915. He returned on 8 December 1915, just before the evacuation.
The 17th Battalion departed Alexandria
for Marseilles on 23 March 1916. Martin was appointed to command the 17th Battalion with the rank of lieutenant colonel on 19 April 1916 in place of Lieutenant Colonel Goddard
, who had been evacuated to Australia sick. The 17th Battalion was committed to Pozieres
in July and took heavy casualties. The battalion remained in the line, participating in the capture of the Pozieres. For his performance—and that of his battalion at Pozieres, Martin was mentioned in dispatches and awarded the Distinguished Service Order
(DSO).
Martin was evacuated with the flu on 23 December 1916, returning to the 17th on 17 February 1917. During the German counterattack at Lagnicourt in April 1917, Martin's headquarters was caught up in the fighting. At Menin Road on 20 September 1917, he moved it into a shell hole in the front line so as to better supervise the defence effort. Martin was mentioned in dispatches twice more in 1917 and he was made a Companion of St Michael and St George
(CMG). Martin was made a brevet lieutenant colonel in the AMF on 24 September 1917.
On 9 March 1918, Martin became temporary command of the 7th Brigade
. On 29 March 1918 Martin became a temporary colonel. He relinquished command on 3 May 1915 and immediately took over command of the 5th Brigade. On 28 June 1918, the position became permanent and Martin became a temporary brigadier general. He was promoted to colonel in the AMF on 9 July 1918.
On 31 August 1918, the 5th Brigade took Mont St Quentin, the capture of Mont St Quentin by the men of the 2nd Division was widely regarded as the finest fighting feat of the war. For his part in the 1918 fighting, Martin was mentioned in dispatches three more times and was made a Companion of the Bath
(CB) on 3 June 1919. He left for Australia
on 12 July 1919, arriving in Sydney on 26 August 1919. He appointment to the AIF was terminated on 8 December 1919.
where he became an accountant with The West Australian
newspaper. In 1932 he was appointed sergeant-at-arms
of the Western Australian Legislative Assembly
. He carried the mace
for the next eighteen years. During World War II
he helped organise the Volunteer Defence Corps in Perth. He died on 22 September 1950.
Brigadier General
Brigadier general is a senior rank in the armed forces. It is the lowest ranking general officer in some countries, usually sitting between the ranks of colonel and major general. When appointed to a field command, a brigadier general is typically in command of a brigade consisting of around 4,000...
Edward Fowell Martin CB, CMG
Order of St Michael and St George
The Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George is an order of chivalry founded on 28 April 1818 by George, Prince Regent, later George IV of the United Kingdom, while he was acting as Prince Regent for his father, George III....
, DSO
Distinguished Service Order
The Distinguished Service Order is a military decoration of the United Kingdom, and formerly of other parts of the British Commonwealth and Empire, awarded for meritorious or distinguished service by officers of the armed forces during wartime, typically in actual combat.Instituted on 6 September...
(22 August 1875 – 22 September 1950) was an Australian Army
Australian Army
The Australian Army is Australia's military land force. It is part of the Australian Defence Force along with the Royal Australian Navy and the Royal Australian Air Force. While the Chief of Defence commands the Australian Defence Force , the Army is commanded by the Chief of Army...
Brigadier General
Brigadier General
Brigadier general is a senior rank in the armed forces. It is the lowest ranking general officer in some countries, usually sitting between the ranks of colonel and major general. When appointed to a field command, a brigadier general is typically in command of a brigade consisting of around 4,000...
who served in World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
.
Early life and career
Edward Fowell Martin was born in Launceston, TasmaniaLaunceston, Tasmania
Launceston is a city in the north of the state of Tasmania, Australia at the junction of the North Esk and South Esk rivers where they become the Tamar River. Launceston is the second largest city in Tasmania after the state capital Hobart...
on 22 August 1875. The family moved to New South Wales where Martin was educated at King's College, Goulburn
Goulburn, New South Wales
Goulburn is a provincial city in the Southern Tablelands of New South Wales, Australia in Goulburn Mulwaree Council Local Government Area. It is located south-west of Sydney on the Hume Highway and above sea-level. On Census night 2006, Goulburn had a population of 20,127 people...
. He worked as an accountant in a bank before joining a woolbroking firm. Martin joined the Army Service Corps as a private in 1898. He was commissioned in 1903 and reached the rank of major on 1 August 1913.
World War I
On 18 August 1914, Martin joined the Australian Naval and Military Expeditionary ForceAustralian Naval and Military Expeditionary Force
The Australian Naval and Military Expeditionary Force was a small volunteer force of approximately 2,000 men, raised in Australia shortly after the outbreak of the First World War to seize and destroy German wireless stations in German New Guinea in the south-west Pacific...
(AN&MEF). The force sailed for New Guinea
New Guinea
New Guinea is the world's second largest island, after Greenland, covering a land area of 786,000 km2. Located in the southwest Pacific Ocean, it lies geographically to the east of the Malay Archipelago, with which it is sometimes included as part of a greater Indo-Australian Archipelago...
on the HMAT Berrima. On 14 September 1914, he led the advance on Toma
Siege of Toma
The Siege of Toma was a bloodless action during the First World War on the island of New Britain between 14–17 September 1914 as part of the occupation of German New Guinea by the Australian Naval and Military Expeditionary Force...
, where the German acting governor had established his headquarters. After the German surrender, Martin landed at Madang with a half company of infantry and a half company of naval reservists for a garrison and took charge there. He was District Administrator until February 1915, after which he returned to Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
where his appointment to the AN&MEF was terminated on 4 March 1915.
On 7 May 1915, Martin was appointed to the First Australian Imperial Force
First Australian Imperial Force
The First Australian Imperial Force was the main expeditionary force of the Australian Army during World War I. It was formed from 15 August 1914, following Britain's declaration of war on Germany. Generally known at the time as the AIF, it is today referred to as the 1st AIF to distinguish from...
as a major in the 17th Battalion
Australian 17th Battalion
The 17th Battalion was an infantry battalion of the Australian Army. Although its numerical designation was bestowed upon in during World War I, the 17th Battalion can trace its lineage back to 1860, when a unit of the New South Wales Volunteer Rifles was raised in St Leonards, New South Wales....
. The battalion left for Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
on 12 May 1915, where Martin became second in command of the battalion on 2 June 1915. The battalion arrived at Anzac
Anzac Cove
Anzac Cove is a small cove on the Gallipoli peninsula in Turkey. It became famous as the site of World War I landing of the ANZAC on April 25, 1915. The cove is a mere long, bounded by the headlands of Ari Burnu to the north and Little Ari Burnu, known as Hell Spit, to the south...
on 19 August 1915 where it was committed to Battle of Hill 60
Battle of Hill 60 (Gallipoli)
The Battle of Hill 60 was the last major assault of the Battle of Gallipoli. It was launched on 21 August 1915 to coincide with the attack on Scimitar Hill made from the Suvla front by General Stopford's British IX Corps. Hill 60 was a low knoll at the northern end of the Sari Bair range which...
on 27 to 29 August, taking many casualties. In September the battalion took over at Quinn's Post. Martin contracted dysentery and was evacuated to Egypt on 13 September 1915. He returned on 8 December 1915, just before the evacuation.
The 17th Battalion departed Alexandria
Alexandria
Alexandria is the second-largest city of Egypt, with a population of 4.1 million, extending about along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea in the north central part of the country; it is also the largest city lying directly on the Mediterranean coast. It is Egypt's largest seaport, serving...
for Marseilles on 23 March 1916. Martin was appointed to command the 17th Battalion with the rank of lieutenant colonel on 19 April 1916 in place of Lieutenant Colonel Goddard
Henry Arthur Goddard
Henry Arthur Goddard CMG, DSO was an Australian Army colonel and temporary Brigadier General in World War I. He retired as a Brigadier General in 1931.-Early life and career:...
, who had been evacuated to Australia sick. The 17th Battalion was committed to Pozieres
Battle of Pozières
The Battle of Pozières was a two week struggle for the French village of Pozières and the ridge on which it stands, during the middle stages of the 1916 Battle of the Somme. Though British divisions were involved in most phases of the fighting, Pozières is primarily remembered as an Australian battle...
in July and took heavy casualties. The battalion remained in the line, participating in the capture of the Pozieres. For his performance—and that of his battalion at Pozieres, Martin was mentioned in dispatches and awarded the Distinguished Service Order
Distinguished Service Order
The Distinguished Service Order is a military decoration of the United Kingdom, and formerly of other parts of the British Commonwealth and Empire, awarded for meritorious or distinguished service by officers of the armed forces during wartime, typically in actual combat.Instituted on 6 September...
(DSO).
Martin was evacuated with the flu on 23 December 1916, returning to the 17th on 17 February 1917. During the German counterattack at Lagnicourt in April 1917, Martin's headquarters was caught up in the fighting. At Menin Road on 20 September 1917, he moved it into a shell hole in the front line so as to better supervise the defence effort. Martin was mentioned in dispatches twice more in 1917 and he was made a Companion of St Michael and St George
Order of St Michael and St George
The Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George is an order of chivalry founded on 28 April 1818 by George, Prince Regent, later George IV of the United Kingdom, while he was acting as Prince Regent for his father, George III....
(CMG). Martin was made a brevet lieutenant colonel in the AMF on 24 September 1917.
On 9 March 1918, Martin became temporary command of the 7th Brigade
Australian 7th Brigade
7th Brigade is a combined arms formation or brigade of the Australian Army. The Brigade was first raised in 1915 as part of the First Australian Imperial Force and saw action at Gallipoli and on the Western Front during World War I. Following the end of the war the brigade was disbanded before...
. On 29 March 1918 Martin became a temporary colonel. He relinquished command on 3 May 1915 and immediately took over command of the 5th Brigade. On 28 June 1918, the position became permanent and Martin became a temporary brigadier general. He was promoted to colonel in the AMF on 9 July 1918.
On 31 August 1918, the 5th Brigade took Mont St Quentin, the capture of Mont St Quentin by the men of the 2nd Division was widely regarded as the finest fighting feat of the war. For his part in the 1918 fighting, Martin was mentioned in dispatches three more times and was made a Companion of the Bath
Order of the Bath
The Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by George I on 18 May 1725. The name derives from the elaborate mediæval ceremony for creating a knight, which involved bathing as one of its elements. The knights so created were known as Knights of the Bath...
(CB) on 3 June 1919. He left for Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
on 12 July 1919, arriving in Sydney on 26 August 1919. He appointment to the AIF was terminated on 8 December 1919.
Post war
In 1924 Martin moved to PerthPerth, Western Australia
Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia and the fourth most populous city in Australia. The Perth metropolitan area has an estimated population of almost 1,700,000....
where he became an accountant with The West Australian
The West Australian
The West Australian is the only locally-edited daily newspaper published in Perth, Western Australia, and is owned by ASX-listed Seven West Media . The West is published in tabloid format, as is the state's other major newspaper, The Sunday Times, a News Limited publication...
newspaper. In 1932 he was appointed sergeant-at-arms
Serjeant-at-Arms
A Sergeant-at-Arms is an officer appointed by a deliberative body, usually a legislature, to keep order during its meetings. The word sergeant is derived from the Latin serviens, which means "servant"....
of the Western Australian Legislative Assembly
Western Australian Legislative Assembly
The Legislative Assembly, or lower house, is one of the two chambers of parliament in the Australian state of Western Australia. It sits in Parliament House in the state capital, Perth....
. He carried the mace
Ceremonial mace
The ceremonial mace is a highly ornamented staff of metal or wood, carried before a sovereign or other high official in civic ceremonies by a mace-bearer, intended to represent the official's authority. The mace, as used today, derives from the original mace used as a weapon...
for the next eighteen years. During World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
he helped organise the Volunteer Defence Corps in Perth. He died on 22 September 1950.