THE BOER WAR C.B., AND FIRST WORLD WAR CAMPAIGN GROUP TO BRIGADIER-GENERAL H. MARTIN, C.B., WHO COMMANDED THE 1ST BATTALION LEINSTER REGIMENT THROUGHOUT THE BOER WAR AND COMMANDED THE 7TH BATTALION BEDFORDSHIRE REGIMENT DURING THE EARLY MONTHS OF THE FIRST WORLD WAR, AND SUBSEQUENTLY COMMANDED THE 200TH DIVISION.
Seven: The Most Honorable Order of the Bath, C.B. (Military), Companion’s Breast Badge, in silver-gilt and enamel, with swivel ring and straight bar suspension; Queen’s South Africa Medal, 3 clasps, Cape Colony, Transvaal, Wittebergen (officially named, engraved in upper and lower case serifed letters: Lt. Colonel. H. MARTIN. Leins. Rgt.); King’s South Africa Medal, 2 clasps (officially named, engraved in upper and lower case serifed letters: Lt. Col. H. MARTIN. C.B. Leins. Rgt.); 1914-15 Star (officially named, impressed in plain capital letters: BRIG. GEN. H. MARTIN. C.B.); British War and Victory Medals (officially named, impressed in plain block capitals: BRIG. GEN. H. MARTIN.).
Along with a duplicate British War Medal (officially named, impressed in plain block capitals: BRIG. GEN. H. MARTIN.).
Mounted court style for display, the duplicate British War Medal separately, silver medals attractively toned, generally Almost Extremely Fine to Extremely Fine.
Brigadier-General Martin's duplicate British War Medal was probably issued in error by the India Office
Group accompanied by copied extract "Who Was Who", WW1 Medal Index card and extracts London Gazettes of the period.
Brigadier General Herbert Martin, C.B. (1857-1931), born 15th January 1857, was the son of Reverend W.G. Martin. First commissioned 2nd Lieutenant, 1st Battalion Leinster Regiment, 30th January 1878, he was promoted Lieutenant, 2nd Battalion Leinster Regiment, 21st October 1878, Captain, 6th June 1883 (at the time of his promotion to Captain, Martin was serving as Adjutant of the 5th (Volunteer) Battalion, Durham Light Infantry, a post which he held from 28th July 1887 to 6th October 1891), Major, 1st Battalion Leinster Regiment, 21st August 1891, and Lieutenant-Colonel, 1st Battalion Leinster Regiment, 23rd May 1899. Martin was promoted Brevet Colonel and transferred to the Reserve of Officers, 23rd May 1903, relinquishing command of the 1st Leinsters to Lieutenant-Colonel T.H. Stavert on the same day.
Martin was recalled for service during the First World War and promoted Brigadier-General, 7th September 1915.
Brigadier-General Martin first saw active service during the Boer War, commanding the 1st Battalion Leinster Regiment in the field for the duration of the Boer War, from the day it landed in South Africa, 13th May 1900, to the cessation of hostilities, 31st May 1902, taking part in the operations in the Orange Free State, May 1900, the Orange River Colony, May to 29th November 1900, including the action at Wittebergen, and the operations in the Transvaal, October 1900 and the Cape Colony, May 1900. He saw further service in the Transvaal, March to April 1901 and July 1901, and in the operations in the Orange River Colony, 30th November 1900 to 31st May 1902. (awarded C.B., London Gazette, 27th September 1901, page 6319, mentioned in despatches for "special and meritorious service", London Gazette, 10th September 1901, Lord Robert's despatch of 4th September 1901, awarded Queen’s Medal with 3 clasps and King’s Medal with 2 clasps).
Martin retired from the army on 23rd May 1903, but was recalled for service during the First World War and appointed Temporary Brigadier General, 14th December 1914. Medal Index Card confirms that Martin commanded the 200th Brigade during the First World War and that he entered the French theatre of operations on 19th April 1915.
Following the outbreak of hostilities in 1914 Martin was given command of the 7th Battalion Bedfordshire Regiment, the appointment being announced in the London Gazette of 28/9/1914, the appointment effective 6/9/1914 (the 7th Battalion Bedfordshire Regiment was raised at Bedford in September 1914), but ceased to command the regiment effective 30/12/1914, having been appointed Temporary Brigadier General 16/12/1914. Martin's appointment to command a brigade was announced in the London Gazette of 5/10/1915, the promotion dated 7/9/1915. The 200th Brigade saw service during the First World War with the 67th (2nd Home Counties) Division. (For his services during the First World War, Brigadier-General Martin was awarded 1914-15 Star, British War and Victory Medals).
Martin is mentioned on numerous occasions in Frederick Ernest Whitton’s “The History of the Prince of Wales’ Leinster Regiment”, in particular for the fact that he commanded the 1st Battalion Leinster Regiment throughout the Boer War. The 1st Battalion Leinster Regiment sailed for South Africa from Southampton on 18th April 1900 in the hired transport Dilwara. Martin and his men landed at Port Elizabeth on 13th May 1900, whereupon they headed up country for Bloemfontein, arriving there on 17th May. There the battalion joined the 16th Brigade of Major General Rundle’s 8th Division. During the course of the next two years the 1st Leinsters were continuously engaged against the Boers, initially in column duties, marching and counter-marching against the more mobile Boer Commandos, and later in blockhouse duties. The 8th Division, with which the 1st Leinsters served, were colloquially known as “The Starving Eighth”, because they were generally very short of supplies of food. Whitton, who saw service with the 1st Leinsters during the Boer War, in his regimental history records that the Division “was, as a rule, very short of supplies except beef and mutton, and was nearly always on half rations or less. At this date we, for a time, only got one biscuit or a little flour each day and had no sugar or salt and very little tea. We were supposed to be living on the country, according to General Rundle, but we were nearly starving as beef for breakfast, dinner and tea, without salt, eaten with some badly cooked flour, was not very palatable.”
The most important action that the 1st Leinsters fought during the Boer War took place on 19th October 1900, when General Rundle’s column was attacked from all sides by a large Boer force at about one thirty in the morning. The Leinsters learnt later that they had been in receipt of the attentions of General De Wet’s Commando, and that the Boers were after the British column’s horses. The attack lasted approximately one hour, and was repulsed at all points. The 1st Leinsters' low point during the Boer War came in late November 1900, when the battalion, stationed at Vrede, was devastated by an outbreak of enteric fever. Over 400 officers and men contracted the disease, and of these, three officers and 40 men of the battalion died (almost a third of the total casualties suffered by the battalion during the course of the Boer War). The services of the 1st Leinsters during the campaign were much appreciated by senior Staff Officers. In January 1901 the 1st Battalion Leinster Regiment received a copy of a telegram from General Rundle, commanding 8th Division, to General Campbell, commanding the 8th Division’s 16th Brigade, in which the 1st Leinsters were serving, commending Martin and his 1st Battalion Leinster Regiment, which read as follows –
“Have received your report re. Colonel Martin and Leinsters with greatest satisfaction. Please express to Colonel Martin and those under his command my regret at the hardships they had to undergo and my appreciation of the soldierlike spirit they had shown under them. It has been a great satisfaction to receive such a report from you of troops forming a portion of 16th Brigade which has done so much to keep up the good name of the Division”.
In April 1902 the 8th Division was broken up, and the 1st Battalion subsequently sailed for home on 5th September, arriving at Southampton on 9th October of that year. During the course of the Boer War the 1st Battalion Leinster Regiment lost 1 officer killed in action, 4 officers died of disease and 2 officers wounded in action, along with 9 other ranks killed in action, 65 died of disease, 39 wounded in action and 8 missing or taken prisoner of war.
The 200th Brigade saw service during the First World War with the 67th (2nd Home Counties) Division.
Brigadier General Martin married, in 1894, Isabelle, daughter of Colonel and Lady Harriet Smyth, eldest daughter of the 5th Earl of Mountcashel. During the Boer War, Colonel Smyth served alongside his son-in-law, commanding the 1st Leinster’s sister battalion, the 3rd Battalion Leinster Regiment, King’s County Militia, during its period of active service in South Africa.
Brigadier General Martin died 17/11/1931.
