Anzac Medallion : James Martin

Bronze medallion showing on the obverse Simpson and his donkey and '1915', surmounted by a Queen's crown. Beneath a laurel wreath and 'ANZAC'. Reverse shows map of Australasia superimposed on the Southern Cross, with fern fronds and an engraved name 'J.MARTIN' beneath.

Associated with 1553 Private James Martin, 21 Battalion AIF. He enlisted at Hawthorn, Victoria, on 12 April 1915, aged fourteen. Served on Gallipoli, was evacuated suffering from enteric fever, and died of disease at sea on 25 October 1915. He is commemorated on the Lone Pine Memorial and, at 14 years and 9 months, is said to have been the youngest member of the AIF to die in the First World War.
The Anzac Medallion was issued by the Australian government in 1967 to surviving Gallipoli veterans or their next of kin, to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Australian landing at Anzac Cove.