Sergeant William Martin on horseback

1340 Sergeant William Clarence Martin, 1st Australian Imperial Force (AIF), 10th Australian Light Horse Regiment, DCM and Bar, was born in Western Australia in 1890. He enlisted in the AIF in July 1915 and by October, had embarked with the tenth reinforcement for the 10th Light Horse.

Martin was awarded a Distinguished Conduct Medal for his bravery on 29th April, 1918 during the ultimately unsuccessful raid on Es Salt across the Jordan. Martin, part of the 3rd Light Horse Brigade scouts was in charge of a section of the Brigade scouts and were well in front of the Brigade during this advance. Himself and another from his section crept up on a Turkish observation post and captured two of the enemy and killed the rest.

After the failure to secure Es Salt, the British troops remained in the Jordan Valley until plans were made to take Damascus. On the night of 27-28th September, the 10th Light Horse which Martin had returned to, forced the Jordan crossing under heavy machine gun and rifle fire. After Martin's troop commander was wounded, Martin assumed command and pushed forward against the enemy. It was noted that the ground was impossible for horses, so Martin led the troops to dismount and rushed and engaged the enemy with bayonets and hand-to-hand fighting which resulted in the capture of fifty prisoners and two machine guns. For this bravery and gallantry, Martin was awarded a Bar to his DCM.

To commemorate the efforts of the 10th Light Horse, the Memorial commissioned Frank Crozier to create a portrait of one Light Horse Trooper. The Memorial sought nominations of a Light Horseman from each state, and after consideration they selected Martin. Lieutenant Colonel A. C. N. Olden recommended Martin, saying that he was 'very pleased' to submit the recommendation and noted of Martin's character that 'he was exceptionally brave, and his bravery was coupled with rare intelligence and cool judgement, which did not, however, impair his brilliancy and dash."

Olden also mentioned in his recommendation that:'Time and again, during the Desert and Palestine campaigns, he has guided the 3rd L.H. Brigade with unerring accuracy throughout long night marches and over unknown country [and] although many times recommended for distinction, it was only towards the end of the Syrian campaign that Martin received a portion of the recognition he so well merited' (Olden in 'The Australian', 31 December 1920).