Virtual
War Memorial
Australia

LAST POST Citation

As we gather to observe Remembrance Day, we especially remember and pay tribute to Private Eric Vivian Holland Martin, a veteran of the First World War.

Eric Martin was born on 7 May 1891 to Vivian and Jane Martin and grew up in Hackney, not very far from here.

He was working, in Adelaide, as an accountant in 1915, when he made the decision to enlist in the Australian Imperial Force. Having been certified as fit for active service he completed the formalities of his enlistment on 11 May. He was allotted to the reinforcements of the 4th Light Horse Brigade Train, as part of the 14th Company, Australian Army Service Corps, and embarked for service overseas, aboard HMAT Borda on 23 June 1915. Eric left behind family and his sweetheart Jean McNeil to whom he gifted a clock, as a memento of his embarkation.

His official service record reflects that by 23 August 1915 he was being treated for illness in the No.2 Oasis Camp in Heliopolis. From there he was transferred to the 1st Australian General Hospital in Cairo and on 5 November 1915 he received the devastating diagnosis of tuberculosis of the kidney. With no effective treatment at the time and no prospect of recovery, Private Martin commenced his return to Australia aboard the No.1 Australian Hospital Ship on 20 January 1916, arriving the following month, on 12 February 1916.

Shortly after, he was admitted to the 7th Australian General Hospital at Keswick Barracks for further treatment until 27 March and on 31 May he was formally discharged as medically unfit and a pension was authorised.

Eric Martin married his sweetheart Jean Mitchell McNeil later in 1916. They lived on the Esplanade at Largs Bay and had two sons, Neil and Ian, both of whom served in WWII.

Following his discharge, and notwithstanding his precarious health, Eric became very active in advocating for returned soldiers, especially those who carried life limiting impacts caused by their service. He joined the Returned Sailors & Soldiers Imperial League and worked on constructing its constitution. From September 1917 he was a Vice President of the South Australia Branch and its representative on the State War Council and became a trustee in January 1918. He also volunteered his time to the Board of the Cheer-up-Society. That he did this, whilst managing his terminal medical condition and doing his best to provide for his family is evidence of his immense strength of character, his caring nature and a desire to make a difference for fellow veterans.

Eric Martin was dealt another blow in 1919, as he succumbed to a serious bout of influenza. Documented accounts from his treating physician, indicated that this impacted on both his physical and mental health significantly.

Eventually the burden of his failing health and its impact overwhelmed him. Private Eric Martin died on 22 August 1919, having taken his own life (aged 28 years).

Although there is an annotation of his death, in his official service record, no further action seems to have been taken. Technically he was eligible to be recorded among the war dead, on the Australian War Memorial’s National Roll of Honour and here in the South Australian National War Memorial - but neither carried his name.

Through the efforts of the St Peters Residents Association and the team at Virtual War Memorial Australia these omissions are being corrected. Eric’s name will be added to the Australian War Memorial, Roll of Honour First World War supplementary panels when they are next re-cast and his name has been added to the Roll of Honour digital database.

Today, Private Eric Martin’s name is officially added to the South Australian National War Memorial, joining the names of 5537 other South Australians who lost their lives in service during World War One. Their duty fearlessly and nobly done, is ever remembered.

We are honoured to have Private Martin’s family represented today by his grandson David Martin and wife Wendy and other family members who would like to offer these words.

“A life tragically cut short - but a life characterised by service to his comrades and country. We acknowledge the work of those who sorted and put together the pieces of the jigsaw puzzle, to give us all a clearer picture of Eric Martin’s contribution to the Australian community. We also acknowledge the role of his immediate family members, in supporting Eric’s surviving family and in preserving tangible mementos of Eric’s family life for us.”

Private Martin’s story, is but one of the many stories of service and sacrifice honoured on the Virtual War Memorial Australia website. Stories of ordinary men and women, who volunteered in the hope that their service, no matter the cost, would restore peace and freedom and make the world a better place.

Standing here today, we have paused to reflect and to honour all those who have served our nation in times of war and armed conflict and those who continue to do so. We recognise their sacrifice and suffering and the impact of their military service, on themselves, their families and communities.

Today, of all days, we renew our commitment to remember them all.

Not all casualties of war die on the battlefield or at sea, or in the air. They may pass away in hospitals, at home or in a secluded place they choose.

Within this memorial, are inscribed, the names and initials of more than five and a half thousand South Australians. At times, we might be tempted to see them as simply names, the people who knew them, are also no longer with us. Yet, over one hundred years ago, they were human beings who lived, loved, feared and laughed, whose spirit is echoed in the three young South Australians, depicted in the sculptures, on the obverse of this deeply symbolic monument.

Eric Martin served with the Australian Army Service Corps, a predecessor Corps, to what we now know today, as the Royal Australian Corps of Transport.The Corps Motto is ‘Par Oneri’ or ‘Equal to the Task. Eric was certainly always ‘Equal to the Task’.

Lest we Forget!

Delivered by Major John O’Grady, Royal Australian Corps of Transport, Remembrance Day, 11 November 2025

At its March (2025) meeting the Australian War Memorial’s Council approved the addition of Private Eric Vivian Holland Martin to the Roll of Honour for the First World War.

His name will be added to the Roll of Honour First World War supplementary panels when they are next recast. His name has also be added to the Roll of Honour (digital) database. 

Virtual War Memorial Australia was thanked for its commitment to ensuring that Australia’s servicemen and servicewomen are appropriately commemorated.