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John Thomas Martin
(December 21, 1925 - January 14, 1996)
A glimpse of his life
John Thomas Martin was born at 2 Martin’s Lane, Workington, Cumberland, Northern England on December 21 1925. He was educated at St Joseph’s Roman Catholic School, Workington.
He went to sea in March 1943, aged 17 years and three months.
He signed on as mess boy with the Danish Coastal trader Marianne II at Birkenhead, Liverpool, serving from May 26 1943 to February 15 1944. The ship, managed by James Glen and Co, Cardiff, for the Danish Government, was captained by William Andersen. The first officer was Grabjak Jensen.
His second ship was the Warita, from February 29 1944 to June 8 1944. He signed on as a mess boy again. This English ship, owned by John Summers Co, Flintshire, was also a coastal trader, taking in Dublin, Northern Ireland and Scotland.
He signed on to his third ship, the SS Fort Mingan, as assistant steward from July 8 1944. The ship was under the control of E.R. Management and Co, Cardiff. His first captain was F. Wilkinson, who was succeeded by first officer E. Hatch. The ship took him from East India Docks, London; to Newcastle; to St John, Canada; to Norfolk, Virginia, US; to Sicily; to Reggio, Italy; to Crotone, Italy; to Port Augusta, Sicily; to Casablanca; to Philadelphia, US; to Naples, Italy;, to Gibraltar; to Bone, North Africa;, to Port Said; to Port Sudan and to South Shield where he was discharged on November 14 1945.
For his services on these Merchant Navy ships during World War II, he was entitled to the following awards: the 1939-45 Star, War Medal, Pacific Star (Burma Clasp), Italy Star and Atlantic Star.
After the war he served on the Orontes which brought him to Australia, first stop Fremantle, Western Australia, in 1947. Impulsively, he jumped ship in Melbourne, eventually making his way to Tasmania to visit distant relatives. He joined a local soccer club in Launceston - and was persuaded to stay.
He married Grace, a born-and-bred Launceston girl, four years after arriving in Australia. He was 25. She was 17.
He worked in a variety of labouring jobs in Launceston - in woollen mills and furniture factories, even as a wool sorter, a brickie’s labourer and a medical insurance salesman - before securing work on August 16 1954 as a proof-reader with The Examiner. On May 22 1955 he was promoted to head reader.
He left The Examiner on November 16 1956 to make his start in journalism. He became a bush reporter and jack-of-all-trades on the North Eastern Advertiser at Scottsdale.
He joined The ABC, Launceston, on March 1 1960 as a D grade reporter, his first weekly wage being 22 pounds and five shillings. He was promoted to C grade in November 1960 and to B grade in 1964. He transferred to the Hobart office in 1969 and was given a $6 loading in August 1969 and a further $4 loading in August 1970.
Early in 1971 he crossed to The Examiner, Hobart, as chief political reporter and head journalist, as B grade with a margin putting him on par with an A grade. The Examiner also gave him a return ticket to London and four weeks’ paid leave on top of his annual leave entitlements in compensation for soon-to-be-due long service payments he was throwing away by leaving the ABC. On May 18 1971, he finally became an Australian citizen!
Some 18 months after crossing to The Examiner, he was back at the ABC, opening the ABC’s new Anne St offices in Launceston, as journalist-in-charge. On Monday, August 20 1973, he was promoted to A grade.
He returned to Hobart as chief-of-staff for ABC News Tasmania in 1978, being promoted to Special A grade. He was chief-of-staff until 1984 when he was appointed Tasmanian news editor.
He retired, prematurely after two heart attacks, in March 1985.
In retirement, John and Grace moved to West Launceston.
In 1986 he had heart by-pass in Adelaide, South Australia. In 1993 he had angioplasty in Hobart.
He wrote a book on his heart experiences, Tell It Like It Is, and published it at the very end of 1993 (so late in fact that it is labelled as 1994 in the book).
His passing
John Thomas Martin died, aged 70, in the Launceston General Hospital in the very early hours of Sunday, January 14 1996.
He was buried in the Carr Villa Lawn Cemetery on a sparkling, fine afternoon on Tuesday, January 16 1996, following a packed church service at St Finn Barr’s, Invermay.
In a letter to his wife Grace, John said that he wanted a friend or family member to say a few words at the funeral service rather than a priest "who doesn’t know me.’’