| George Lewis
Martin, was born in Ditton Priors, Shropshire, England. His father was a Naval
Architect for the P&O steamship lines and his grandfather was a Sergeant of Marines
for the Royal Navy (proper terminology?) serving out of Stonehouse, Devon, England.
His Grandfather died on 'expedition' in Mexico in 1862.
I'm told that George Lewis would not talk about his experiences
overseas. Consequently, I'm trying to put something together that would help explain
what he went though, and where he went. It's important that my children (and the
rest of my family) know the sacrifices that were made for them by all the lads.
I was fascinated how a person could sign up
for one War return home safely and want to do it again! Talk about dedication.
The above was supplied by GL
Martin's Great-Granddaughter, Natalie Skuce
Below is from his WW1 service file
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Feb 1, 1877
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Born in Stonehouse, Plymouth, England to Edwin
Lewis and Harriett Louisa (nee Perkins) Martin
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Aug 6, 1895
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Attested into the Northamptonshire Regiment in
England
The 2nd Northamptonshire Regiment battalion
sailed for South Africa in October of 1899.
He saw action at the battles of Belmont and Enslin and came under
attack near Graspan. Finally, he was
stationed in the area of Central Transvaal until the end of the war
For this he earned the Queen’s and King’s South
Africa Medals with total of 6 clasps
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Aug 5, 1907
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Discharged from the Northamptonshire Regiment
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Nov 6, 1914
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Attested into the 21st Battalion in Kingston, Ontario
Ø Number 59640 (temporary number 327)
Ø Next of kin given as Lewis J. Martin, Caroline Post Office,
Innisfil, Ontario
Ø Previous occupation given as Farmer
Ø Previous military experience given as Northampton Regiment with
service in South Africa
Ø Religion given as Church of England
Ø Posted to “C” Company
o This was later reorganized into “B” Company
The 21st Battalion trained in the Kingston, Ontario
area through the winter of 1914-15.
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Nov 25, 1914
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Married to Maud Emily Cole in the Church of St.
George, Peterborough, Ontario
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May 6, 1915
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Embarked the RMS Metagama in Montreal, Quebec
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May 15, 1915
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Disembarked in Devonport, England and the
battalion proceeded to the West Sandling Camp, near Hythe, Kent to continue
training
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Sep 14, 1915
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Embarked the St. Seiriol in Folkestone
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Sep 15, 1915
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Disembarked in Boulogne, France and the battalion
proceeded to St. Omer
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Sep 25, 1915
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Attached to the 2nd Division Mining Section
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Jan 12, 1916
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Transferred to the newly formed 3rd
Canadian Tunnelling Company in St. Marie Cappel, France and his rank was
changed to Sapper, the engineers equivalent to the rank of Private
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May 25, 1916
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Admitted to the No. 2 CFA (Canadian Field
Ambulance) with a diagnosis that reads Influenza and transferred the same day
to the No. 2 Canadian Field Ambulance
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May 26, 1916
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Discharged to duty from the field ambulance
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Sep 20, 1916
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Attached to the 2nd Tunnelling Company
for duty
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Sep 30, 1916
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Rejoined the 3rd Canadian Tunnelling
Company in Busseboom, Belgium
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Dec 15, 1916
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Granted 10 days leave
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Dec 27, 1916
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Rejoined the tunnelling company from leave near
Ploegsteert, Belgium
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Jul 21, 1917
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Awarded the Good Conduct Badge
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Aug 18, 1917
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Admitted to the No. 11 Australian Field Ambulance
with a diagnosis that reads Bronchitis
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Aug 21, 1917
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Transferred to the No. 2 ACCS (Australian
Casualty Clearing Station) then transferred to the 3rd Division
Rest Station
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Aug 22, 1917
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Transferred to the No. 16 General Hospital in Le
Treport, France
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Aug 27, 1917
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Discharged to the CGBD (Canadian General Base
Depot) in Etaples, France
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Sep 12, 1917
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After leaving the general base depot, Sapper
Martin rejoined the 3rd Canadian Tunnelling Company near
Ploegsteert, Belgium
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Dec 28, 1917
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Granted 14 days leave
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Jan 12, 1918
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Rejoined the tunnelling company from leave east
of Ypres, Belgium
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Dec 27, 1918
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Granted 14 days leave
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Jan 11, 1919
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Rejoined the tunnelling company from leave near
Pont Rouge, Belgium
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Mar 3, 1919
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Proceeded to England and attached to the CSME
(Canadian School of Military Engineering) in Seaford
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Apr 14, 1919
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Embarked the SS Olympic in Southampton
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Apr 21, 1919
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Disembarked in Halifax, Nova Scotia and proceeded
to Kingston, Ontario
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Apr 24, 1919
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Discharged from the CEF in Kingston, Ontario
Ø Rank on discharge Sapper
Ø War Service Badge Class “A”
issued number 246657
Ø Proposed residence on
discharge Peterborough, Ontario
Following his discharge, the 1914-15 Star,
British War Medal and Victory Medals were sent to him c/o W.T. Buck at RR #4,
Norwood, Ontario
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Jul 1, 1951
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George Lewis Martin died of Arteriosclerosis
while a patient of the Peterborough Civic Hospital, Peterborough, Ontario and
was buried in the Little Lake Cemetery in Peterborough
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George Lewis
Martin is remembered on the Wall of Honour in
Peterborough, Ontario
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