Edward Fowell Martin
Edward Fowell Martin | |
---|---|
Born | Brigadier General | 22 August 1875
Commands held | 5th Brigade (1918–19) 17th Battalion (1916–18) |
Battles/wars | First World War |
Awards | Companion of the Mentioned in Despatches (6) |
Other work | Sergeant-at-arms of the Western Australian Legislative Assembly |
Early life and career
Edward Fowell Martin was born in
First World War
On 18 August 1914 Martin joined the Australian Naval and Military Expeditionary Force (AN&MEF). The force sailed for New Guinea on HMAS 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 joined the
The 17th Battalion departed
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, Martin's headquarters was caught up in the fighting. At
On 9 March 1918 Martin assumed temporary command of the 7th Brigade and was promoted to temporary colonel on 29 March. He relinquished command on 3 May and immediately took over command of the 5th Brigade. On 28 June the position became permanent and Martin became a temporary brigadier general. He was promoted to colonel in the AMF on 9 July.
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 despatches three more times and was made a Companion of the Order of the Bath (CB) on 3 June 1919. He left for Australia on 12 July, arriving in Sydney on 26 August. He appointment to the AIF was terminated on 8 December.
Post-war
In 1924 Martin moved to
See also
- List of Australian generals
References
- Ross Mallett, Edward Fowell Martin, General Officers of the First AIF, adfa.edu.au
- Matthew Higgins, 'Martin, Edward Fowell (1875–1950)', Australian Dictionary of Biography, Volume 10, Melbourne University Press, 1986, pp 426–427.