MARTIN, Thomas Bram
| Other Name: | Martin, Thomas Benn - Grave Headstone |
|---|---|
| Service Number: | 148 |
| Enlisted: | Not yet discovered |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | 1st Queensland Mounted Infantry |
| Born: | Maryport, Allerdale Borough, Cumbria, England, 28 February 1879 |
| Home Town: | Gympie, Queensland |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Soldier |
| Died: | Brisbane, Queensland, Australia., 19 June 1949, aged 70 years, cause of death not yet discovered |
| Cemetery: |
Lutwyche Cemetery, Brisbane, Qld Plot - MON-2-91A-68 |
| Memorials: |
Boer War Service
| 1 Oct 1899: | Involvement Private, 148, 1st Queensland Mounted Infantry | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 Nov 1899: | Embarked Australian and Colonial Military Forces - Boer War Contingents, Private, 148, 1st Queensland Mounted Infantry, AWM Boer War Unit Details, Murray p. 448 notes 1st QMI embarked 1 Nov 1899 aboard Cornwall arriving Cape Town 13 Dec 1899. | |
| 23 Jan 1901: | Discharged Australian and Colonial Military Forces - Boer War Contingents, Private, 148, 1st Queensland Mounted Infantry, AWM Boer War Unit Details, Murray p. 449 notes 1st QMI embarked 13 Dec 1900 returning to Australia aboard Orient arriving Brisbane 17 Jan 1901, disbanded 23 Jan 1901. |
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Add my storyBiography contributed by Claude McKelvey
Note- He is recorded incorrectly as Thomas Bram Martin in the AWM Boer War Nominal Roll, his actual name was Thomas Benn Martin.
The Boer War commenced in 1899 prior to federation and as a result each State in Australia maintained their own military forces and sent their own contingents to support the British efforts in South Africa and recorded their soldiers on their own individual nominal rolls. The AWM Nominal Roll comes from a compilation of information on those various records undertaken by Lt-Col. P. L. Murray to form a singular record covering all contingents which was published in 1911.
When Thomas enlisted in 1899, he was entered in the original nominal roll for the 1st Queensland Contingent held by National Archives, and his details were published with the rank and file in The Brisbane Courier, 18 Nov 1899, where he was simply recorded as 148 Private T. B. Martin, single, Noosa Road, Gympie. His discharge paper on his Boer War Dossier held by National Archives also records him as T. B. Martin.
In his entry in the Boer War Service Paybooks for the 1st QMI, Bk 1 p. 69, he was again recorded as T. B. Martin, however, crucially it also noted that he directed part of his pay to a Mrs. S. J. Martin, Nossa Road, Gympie. Given The Brisbane Courier noted he was single when he enlisted, this person was his mother Mrs. Sarah Jane Martin. The paybooks note he served the entire tour of the contingent, returning with them aboard the Orient to Brisbane where he was discharged on 23 Jan 1901.
Thomas Benn Martin was born on 28 Feb 1879 in England, a son to James Martin and Sarah Jane Martin (nee Richardson). He emigrated with his parents to Australia settling in Gympie. He married Ada Stitt (nee Russell) on 6 Mar 1905 in Queensland.
When he passed in 1949 a funeral notice was published in the Brisbane Telegraph, 20 Jun 1949, which published his name as Thomas Benjamin Martin and noted he was a South African Veteran. This was likely due to the newspaper mistakingly believing that Benn was a derivation of Benjamin, however, his English and Qld BDM registrations of his birth, marriage, and death all record him as Thomas Benn Martin. It is also noted that in Murray's compilation for the AWM Boer War Nominal Roll there is no entry for a Thomas Benjamin Martin, and the only entry with initials of T. B. is the Thomas Bram Martin discussed above.
(source- AWM Boer War Nominal Roll, Murray p. 451; National Archives Australia- B5172 Nominal Roll of 1st Queensland Contingent Queensland Defence Force for service in South Africa, p. 1; National Archives Australia- Boer War Dossier; Qld State Archives- Boer War Service Paybooks, Bk 1 p. 69).