After the outbreak of the
First World War, Martin enlisted in the
Australian Imperial Force on 12 April 1915, against the wishes of his family. His parents finally agreed however when he made it clear that he would sign on under an assumed name and never write to them if they did not consent. He gave a false date of birth to the recruiting officer, claiming to be 18, when he was actually 14 years and three months. Martin joined the 1st Reinforcements of the
21st Battalion as a
private and trained in
Broadmeadows and
Seymour (later
Puckapunyal) camps in
Victoria before starting to board
HMAT Berrima in June 1915 to deploy to
Egypt, In late August, following the failed
August Offensive, he was sent to
Gallipoli on the
steamer HMT Southland, to take part in the fighting against the Turks, which had by that time developed into a bloody stalemate. En route,
Southland was torpedoed by a German submarine off the island of
Lemnos and Martin was rescued after spending four hours in the water. After being picked up, he rejoined his battalion at
Mudros Island where they were transferred to the transport ship
Abassieh on 7 September to resume their voyage to Gallipoli. The following morning, just before 2:00 am, Martin's platoon, 4 Platoon, landed at Watson's Pier in Anzac Cove. He then served in trenches around Courtney's Post, which was positioned on the ridge overlooking Monash Valley. During this time he wrote to his family telling them that "the Turks are still about away from us" and asked them not to worry about him as "I am doing splendid over here". As the campaign dragged on, winter approached and the weather on the Gallipoli Peninsula began to take its toll on the soldiers in the trenches. Following a period of cold temperatures and heavy rain Martin contracted
enteric fever in the trenches. After suffering mild symptoms for about a fortnight during which time he refused treatment, he was subsequently evacuated to the
hospital ship on 25 October 1915 after he developed diarrhoea. Nevertheless, on 18 December 1915, Melbourne's
Herald newspaper reported Martin's death in an article titled "Youngest Soldier Dies". Although he was the youngest known AIF soldier killed during the war, Martin was likely not the youngest soldier to have enlisted. Albert Dunnicliff is believed to have enlisted a week before his 14th birthday, and served for 16 months, including a period on the Western Front, before being discharged. ==Honours and awards==