MARTIN, Peter James
| Service Number: | 3399 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 9 August 1915, Melbourne, Vic. |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | 6th Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | Geelong, Victoria, Australia, 24 July 1875 |
| Home Town: | Moonee Ponds, Moonee Valley, Victoria |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Gas Stoker |
| Died: | Died of wounds, Caulfield, Victoria, Australia, 25 March 1918, aged 42 years |
| Cemetery: |
Coburg Pine Ridge Cemetery, Victoria, Australia Grave: R.C. P. 571 |
| Memorials: |
World War 1 Service
| 9 Aug 1915: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Private, 3399, 8th Infantry Battalion, Melbourne, Vic. | |
|---|---|---|
| 11 Oct 1915: | Involvement Private, 3399, 8th Infantry Battalion, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '9' embarkation_place: Adelaide embarkation_ship: HMAT Nestor embarkation_ship_number: A71 public_note: '' | |
| 11 Oct 1915: | Embarked Private, 3399, 8th Infantry Battalion, HMAT Nestor, Adelaide | |
| 22 Feb 1916: | Transferred AIF WW1, Private, 6th Infantry Battalion, Egypt | |
| 23 Jul 1916: | Involvement AIF WW1, Private, 3399, 6th Infantry Battalion, Battle for Pozières | |
| 6 Dec 1916: | Wounded AIF WW1, Private, 3399, 6th Infantry Battalion, 'The Winter Offensive' - Flers/Gueudecourt winter of 1916/17, GSW to head and loss of right eye in the line at Gueudecourt. Evacuated to UK, then Australia. | |
| 25 May 1917: | Discharged AIF WW1, Private, 3399, 6th Infantry Battalion, RTA 22 February 1917 and discharged as MU (loss of right eye). He died 25 March 1918 at Caulfield Military Hospital from complications arising from his original wound. |
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Add my storyBiography contributed by Robert Wight
Peter James Martin played 15 games (1901-02) for Collingwood FC in the VFL, including the 1901 VFL Grand Final loss to Essendon where he was a wingman.
He finished his career at North Melbourne, then in the Victorian Football Association (VFA), where he played for at least three seasons (1903–1905).
He then played for four seasons for the Garrison Artillery Football Team (he served in the Royal Garrison Artillery for six years).
The name of Peter James Martin (3399) does not appear on the Australian War Memorial's Roll of Honour because, at the time of his death (25 March 1918), more than 12 months and a day had elapsed since he had been wounded in action.
By the time of his death, he had been discharged from the army, and was not listed as officially "Died of Wounds" on any casualty list.
He had been hit in the head by a German bullet fragment near Gueudecourt, France on 8 December 1916; the right side of his head was very badly damaged (his skull had been fractured, and it never healed properly), and he had lost his right eye. He did not appear on a casualty list until January 1917.
He was discharged from the AIF on 26 January 1917 and died from his war wounds at the Caulfield Military Hospital (No.5 Australian General Hospital) on 25 March 1918.
He was buried with full military honours, in an unmarked grave, at Coburg Cemetery.
Source: Wikipedia and Robert Wight
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