Virtual
War Memorial
Australia

Life before the war

John Martin was born in 1891 in May, he was a Roman Catholic and lived originally in Footscray, Melbourne, but later moved to Port Adelaide in South Australia. John was not married, and his next of kin was his father, Hugh Martin. He had not committed any crimes before joining the war. As stated on his service record, he was a labourer, meaning that he did manual work as his profession. This was a very common type of job, most likely not earning much. His decision to join the army may have been influenced by the potential monetary gains, compared to his life as a labourer.

Enlistment

When John Martin enlisted when he was 24 years old on the 17 of January 1916 in Port Adelaide. His physical attributes, listed on his service record were: His height at 5 foot, 4 inches or roughly 162 centimetres tall. slightly below the average height of men at the time, and his weight 168 pounds or 76.2 kilograms, the average for men around 1916. His complexion was written as fresh, his hair colour was written as auburn, which would be a reddish brown and his eye colour was grey. When he was enlisted, he was given the service number 129, and the rank private.

Training camp

Like many others, John trained at the Morphettville Racecourse. Men there had to follow a tight morning schedule. They had to wash, shave, fold blankets, clean out the tent, get rid of the rubbish and conduct a quick ‘emu bob’ (a detailed search of an area), all this in time for the 7.30 am sergeant’s inspection parade. Most men did this in teams of 2 or more for more efficiency. If the teams were fast enough, they had a chance of catching breakfast in the cafeteria before the inspection. The parade was simple; they had to be there on time, fall in line, in three ranks and then await their name to be called by the Sergeant.  

As there was a shortage in most things: food, tents, uniform, rifles and equipment. When doing drills and there were not enough rifles, broomsticks were issued. The sergeants were told that every man was to treat it like a real rifle. Soon the efforts of the quartermaster and his team shown (A senior sergeant in charge of equipment) through and there was enough equipment for every man soon enough.

Training regiment

Most of the early training was fitness. Physical training was east to plan and conduct and helped men who had seated or sedentary positions prior. John Martin likely did well in these exercises as he was a labourer before hand so must have had some muscle built up. Training also focused on breaking through the mental barrier of combat: when your mind tricks you into thinking your body can’t go any longer. Soldiers were taught to argue back and convince the mind and body that they could continue. This meant intense training like long route marches, cross country runs in full kit, obstacle crossing drills, bayonet fighting, rope climbing, stretcher carrying and crawling along the ground under low barbed wire.

During the war

After joining the military on the 17 of January 1916, he was the lowest rank at private, transferred to the 43rd battalion. In June he proceeded overseas to France on the HMAT Afric A19.

John was wounded in the foot on 24 January 1917 and rejoined his unit in early March. He was wounded for the second time at Messines on 4 June, this time in the buttocks and abdomen. This was more severe, and he spent several monhs recuperating in England before rejoining his battalion in February 1918. He was ill in May and then was wounded for the third time on 1 September 1918, this time in the arm. This was a severe wound and saw him returned to Australia for discharge.

The Third General Hospital

The Third General hospital was one of 4 temporary hospitals made during the war. This specific one that John Martin stayed at was previously built as an orphanage, for children of sailors and marines who fought during the Crimean War. In 1900, it had been turned into the Royal Victoria Patriotic School. On the second day of the war, it was announced and was requisitioned to become a hospital. The children were transferred to nearby houses during the duration. Out of all the general hospitals this one needed the most restructuring, with 10 hutted wards built, each containing 20-25 beds.       

After the War

After the war ended, he returned to Australia alive, from the United Kingdom. He likely returned to Footscray Melbourne to visit his father, obviously very lucky to survive getting wounded a total of 3 times and sick a total of 3 times.