The Last Post Ceremony commemorating the service of (1359) Private Richard Martin, 47th Australian Infantry Battalion, AIF, First World War.

The Last Post Ceremony is presented in the Commemorative area of the Australian War Memorial each day. The ceremony commemorates more than 102,000 Australians who have given their lives in war and other operations and whose names are recorded on the Roll of Honour. At each ceremony the story behind one of the names on the Roll of Honour is told. Hosted by Jana Johnson, the story for this day was on (1359) Private Richard Martin, 47th Australian Infantry Battalion, AIF, First World War.

1359 Private Richard Martin, 47th Australian Infantry Battalion, AIF
KIA 28 March 1918

Today we remember and pay tribute to Private Richard Martin.

Richard Martin was almost 23 when he enlisted in the Australian Imperial Force on 17 December 1914, giving his place of birth as Dunedin, New Zealand, and declaring that he had five years’ service in the Light Horse.

In fact he had been born on Stradbroke Island, and had no previous military experience.

The reason that he claimed to be a light horseman from New Zealand was that New Zealand’s Treaty of Waitangi granted Maori people full citizenship rights, enabling them to enlist.

Martin, on the other hand, was Aboriginal, and as such was neither a citizen of Australia, nor eligible to join the Australian Imperial Force. The 1903 Defence Act specifically excluded those “not of substantial European descent” from service in cadets and the militia. Richard’s grandfathers were of European descent: English and French.

Richard gave his next of kin as his brother, Mr Alfred Martin of Dunwich, and his mother, Rosie Martin, was listed as living at “Myora, via Dunwich”. The family was well known, and had lived in Dunwich until the death of Richard’s father.

Many of the Aboriginal people at Myora (known as Moongalba by the local community) on the north-east coast of North Stradbroke Island were descended from the Noonuccal and Koepul from Stradbroke Island, and the Ngugee of Moreton Island. Richard and Megan were Quandamooka from Minjerribah on North Stradbroke Island.

People from the Mission supported the war effort, fundraising for the Wounded Soldiers Fund, and at least half of the 22 men from North Stradbroke Island who enlisted were of Aboriginal descent.

Bethel Delaney remembered her Uncle Richard leaving the island after he had successfully enlisted. She went down to the jetty, where there was a group of people waving him goodbye, and feeling sad.

Richard Martin was allotted to reinforcements to the 15th Battalion, and in early May joined his unit on Gallipoli, where it was heavily involved in establishing and defending the front line of the Anzac beachhead.

The conditions on the peninsula took a harsh toll. Martin first began to suffer from jaundice. Ironically, he was admitted to a New Zealand field ambulance, before being sent on for further treatment. Later he was evacuated with dysentery, and in December he contracted mumps; after time on a hospital ship, he was admitted to a convalescent depot at Mustapha Barracks in Alexandria.

After a few days’ convalescence, Martin was reported for being “absent, drunk, and creating a disturbance”, the first instance of what would become regular run-ins with military authorities.

In December, Martin rejoined his unit in Egypt, where the AIF took on new recruits and reorganised. The 15th Battalion was split and Private Martin was among those transferred to the 47th Battalion, which began training in preparation for joining the war on the Western Front.

Arriving in France in early June 1916, the 47th Battalion participated in its first major battle at Pozieres. Martin was wounded in action during the fighting on 9 August, and was admitted to field ambulance with “shell shock” the following day. But he was back on duty after four days.

In late March, Martin was found absent without leave, and on top of forfeiting eight days’ pay was punished with 168 hours of heavy labouring duties. In early April, there was more trouble. Martin was charged with, “after being duly warned, absenting himself without permission from the 1.30 pm parade until apprehended by escort at 2.30 pm”, and was given another two weeks of heavy labouring duties.

But there would not be time to finish his punishment before the next battle. On 11 April he took part in the attack against the heavily defended village of Bullecourt. Devoid of surprise, and dependent upon the support of unreliable tanks, the attack failed.

Later in the year, the focus of Australian operations switched to the Ypres sector in Belgium. In preparation for the allied summer offensive in Flanders, tunnellers had dug mines beneath German trenches in the area and packed the tunnels with explosives. Before dawn on 7 June 1917, 19 mines were blown, obliterating the German positions. British, New Zealand and Australian troops advanced to take the devastated ridge. Despite that success, the battle cost 6,000 Australian casualties.

Martin was wounded in action, and was admitted to field ambulance with a gunshot wound to his right forearm. From there he was taken to general hospital in France, before being sent to a convalescent depot, and then the Divisional Base Depot at Le Harve, where he was charged with “breaking out of Camp” and “being out of bounds”. A few weeks later, he was found absent from training parade.

In late July he returned to his battalion in the Ypres sector, where the fighting continued.

After a brief period of leave in mid-September, Martin returned to his unit. In mid-October he received a gunshot wound to his right hand – his third wound taken in battle – and was sent to England, where he received treatment and recovery before returning to his unit in February 1918.

On 28 March, German forces attacked near the village of Dernancourt. The Germans succeeded in breaking the 47th Battalion’s part of the line before neighbouring Australian units cut them off and prevented more German soldiers getting through. The Germans continued to attack in force during the day – men of the 47th Battalion saw German troops getting off buses behind the line to join the attack – but despite heavy casualties the Australian line did not break.

Even such successes involved casualties. Private Richard Martin – who had lied about his ancestry in order to enlist, who fought on Gallipoli and in numerous key actions on the Western Front, who had been wounded three times in combat, and been in trouble with military authorities on more than one occasion – was now among the dead.

His remains were reportedly buried at the Dernancourt Military Cemetery. Later, however, his grave could not be found. Today his name appears on the Australian National Memorial at Villers-Bretonneux, which commemorates all Australian soldiers who fought in France and Belgium during the First World War.

Richard Martin’s name is listed on the Roll of Honour on my right, among more than 60,000 Australians who died while serving in the First World War.

This is but one of the many stories of service and sacrifice told here at the Australian War Memorial. We now remember Richard Martin, who gave his life for us, for our freedoms, and in the hope of a better world.

Duncan Beard, Editor
Military History Section