James Martin (Australian soldier)

James Charles Martin
Studio portrait of Private James Martin
Nickname(s)	Jim
Born	3 January 1901 , New South Wales
Died	25 October 1915(1915-10-25) (aged 14) At sea, off ANZAC Cove
Service/branch	First Australian Imperial Force
Rank	Private
Battles/wars	World War I Gallipoli campaign
Awards	1914–15 Star British War Medal Victory Medal

World War I

James Charles (Jim) Martin (3 January 1901 – 25 October 1915) was the youngest Australian known to have died in World War I. He was only 14 years and nine months old when he succumbed to typhoid during the Gallipoli campaign. He was one of 20 Australian soldiers under the age of 18 known to have died in World War I.

James Martin was born to Amelia and Charles Martin on 3 January 1901 in , New South Wales. His father was born Charles Marks, in Auckland, New Zealand; however, after emigrating to Australia and settling in Tocumwal, he changed his name to Martin to avoid discrimination for being Jewish. Charles worked as a grocer, handyman and (horse-drawn) cab driver, while Amelia was born in Bendigo in 1876 to Thomas and Frances Park. Her parents had emigrated to Australia during the gold rush in the 1850s. The youngest of twelve children, she married Charles just before her 18th birthday. Martin's family moved to many different suburbs in and around Melbourne before finally settling in Hawthorn in 1910. He was the third of six children, and the only son. He attended Manningtree Road State School from 1910 to 1915, during which time he also received basic military training as a junior cadet under the compulsory training scheme.

After the outbreak of World War I 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. His father had earlier tried to enlist but had been rejected as being too old. Martin joined the 1st Reinforcements of the 21st Battalion as a private and trained in Broadmeadows and Seymour (later Puckapunyal) camps in Victoria before boarding HMAT Berrima in June 1915 to deploy to Egypt, arriving there in late July.