Photo Gallery
Ernest Sidney MARTIN
| Rank | Reg/Ser No | DOB | Enlisted | Discharge/Death | Board |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lieut. | 22 Jun 1886 | 12 May 1916 | 19 Sep 1917 | 2 |
Although listed on the Honour Board as "Edwin Martin" it is believed that this is a typographical error. The name on the Honour Board should read as "Ernest Sidney Martin". Ernest Martin had many family connections at Saint Andrew's Presbyterian Church including his brothers-in-law, Lieutenant Colonel Dr J. Espie Dods, Captain Leonard Reid Walker and Corporal Philip Cunningham Walker all of whom are listed on the Honour Boards as well as his mother-in-law Margaret Adeline Walker (nee Reid) whose family also attended the church.
Lieutenant Ernest Sidney MARTIN (1886-1934)
At the age of 20, Ernest Sidney Martin set out on his own to pursue his dream to be a Dental Surgeon. He travelled to America, where the latest advancements in dental technology were being taught, and gained his degree from the University of Pennsylvania. After completing his studies, he later practiced in London before moving to Germany, where he established a dental practice.
However, the outbreak of WW1 would dramatically change the course of his life. He was taken prisoner in Germany shortly before the war began. After being held captive for five months, he managed to escape and return to his family in Brisbane.
Following his return to Australia, Lieutenant Ernest Sidney Martin then enlisted in the Australian Imperial Force (AIF) as a dentist. He was posted overseas with the 14th Australian General Hospital at Abbassia near Cairo, Egypt. Unfortunately, his service was cut short when his health deteriorated and he had to return home.
Martin Family Heritage
Ernest’s father, Sidney George Martin, was the son of Rev. James and Hannah Martin1 from Nottinghamshire, England. Rev. James Martin, Ernest’s paternal grandfather, was a well-respected Baptist Minister who served congregations in London, Cheshire, and at Charlotte Baptist Chapel in Edinburgh2, before ultimately ministering at the Derby Road Baptist Church in Nottingham. While there, he accepted a call to lead the congregation at the Collins Street Baptist Church in Melbourne, Australia.
The Martin family, (Ernest’s grandparents) undertook the long journey to Australia, arriving in Melbourne in late 18693. While in Melbourne, Reverend James Martin was known for his powerful preaching. He was also a linguist, authoring and publishing theological works, and was actively involved with the YMCA. In addition, he served as a tutor at the Congregational College. Hannah Martin, his wife, who had previously been engaged with the Bible Missionary Society (BMS) in Britain, also founded a Home Missionary Society in Melbourne in 18714.
Ernest’s Parents
Sidney George Martin (1860-1919) and Jessie Eveline (nee Morton)5 (1866 -1936) were married on 19 May 1885 in Queensland6.
Ernest’s mother, Jessie, was born in Queensland and was the daughter of Scottish immigrants Robert Murdoch Morton and Margaret Elizabeth (nee Gerler). They were married in Fife, Scotland in 1824. (Robert Morton arrived in Australia in 1832 as an Assisted Immigrant and his occupation was listed was a Tailor7.)
Both Sidney Martin and Jessie Martin (Ernest’s parents) were heavily involved in the Brisbane community throughout their lives. Sidney was Treasurer of the Brisbane YMCA for 20 years and took a large share in the formation of the Blind, Deaf and Dumb Association as well as acting as Treasurer over several years.
Jessie Martin was a member of Saint Andrew’s Ann Street Presbyterian Church, President of the Brisbane Women’s Club for 3 years, a member of the National Council of Women, the Young Women’s Christian Association (YWCA) and the Lyceum Club of Brisbane.
Ernest’s Family life
Ernest Sidney Martin was the eldest child of Sidney and Jessie Martin and was born on 22 June 18868 in Hawthorn, Melbourne, Victoria. The Martin family lived in Melbourne until Ernest’s father accepted a position as an Accountant at the Queensland Head Office of the National Mutual Life Assurance Company in Brisbane in 1881.
A change in his father’s employment in 1888, meant the family relocated to Wellington, New Zealand where Ernest’s sisters, Evelyn Mary Martin9 and Florence Lilian Martin10, were born in 1889 and 1891 respectively.
In the late 1890s the family returned to Queensland when his father, Sidney, was appointed Manager of National Mutual Life Assurance Society Ltd, in Queen Street, Brisbane.
Education
Before the family moved from Melbourne, Ernest attended Scotch College and after arriving in Brisbane he was enrolled at the Brisbane Grammar School (BGS) from February 1900 to June 1903. During his time at BGS, he was a member of the School Cadets. Ernest passed the Sydney Junior Examination in 1903 and during that year he played cricket for the school in the 1st XI11.
Trained as a Dentist
On leaving school, Ernest began a three-year apprenticeship in Brisbane with dentist, Dr Christopher William Hurworth12,13. (Dr Hurworth was the first registrar of the Dental Board of Queensland. After training at the Melbourne Dental College, he attended Harvard Dental School in USA between 1903-190414 and gained his degree in Dental Surgery. Dr Hurworth returned to Australia where he had surgeries in Brisbane, Toowoomba and Stanthorpe.)
After completing his apprenticeship with Dr Hurworth and aged just 20 years, Ernest travelled to England on the ‘SS Persic’ departing Sydney and arriving in London six weeks later on 4 July 1906. On 11 July 1906, he embarked on the ‘SS Teutonic’ which departed from Liverpool, England, arriving in New York15 on 19 July. Interestingly, on his arrival in New York, the US Immigration Manifest recorded his age as 22. It also recorded that he had been living in London and had more than $50 in his possession at the time of disembarking. Ernest gave his final destination on the manifest as ‘Boston’ (Massachusetts) and it is also noted that he was to be staying at the YMCA while in New York. (The link to the YMCA through his parents and grandparents in Australia may have been his reason for choosing this accommodation while on his way to university.)
Throughout his life, there are references by Ernest and others about his genuine desire to be up to date with the very latest in dental procedures and techniques. This yearning, from a young age, would have spurred him on at 20 to travel to America alone to gain this knowledge.
University of Pennsylvania School of Dental Medicine
Ernest Sidney Martin is next recorded in the First Year Class of the Dental Student List in the Catalogue of the University of Pennsylvania 1907/0816. The University of Pennsylvania School of Dental Medicine, also known as Penn Dental Medicine, is among the oldest university-affiliated dental schools in the United States, with its origins dating back to 1852. Notably, the first Doctor of Dental Surgery (DDS) degrees were awarded in 1879.
While at the University, Ernest lived at the student accommodation called the ‘Quadrangle Dormitories’ which were situated at 3700 Spruce Street, University of Pennsylvania. His residential address while at the university was 3706 Spruce Street.
Ernest is recorded in the Student Lists of the University Catalogues for three years ie 1908-1909, 1909-1910 and 1910-1911, and he is awarded his Doctor of Dental Surgery Degree on 22 February 1910. A rare portrait photograph of the Class 1910 University of Pennsylvania Dental teaching staff and graduates shows Ernest arrowed and is shown in the photo gallery17.
Return to Australia
Ernest returned to Liverpool on 26th June 1910 aboard the ship ‘RMS Celtic’ from New York, USA and then made his way home to Brisbane. On his return he established a surgery on Wickham Terrace. He was registered with a Licentiate of Dentistry Queensland (LDQ) on 17 October 191018 .
During this period, Ernest was also a member of the Australian Army Medical Corps Dental Reserve with the rank of 1st Lieutenant.
The 8th July 1912 saw the Third Australian Dental Congress held in Brisbane. Ernest attended the Congress and is seen in a group portrait which hangs today in the Australian Dental Association Brisbane Rooms. In the Report for this Congress, Ernest was appointed Chairman for 'Operative Dentistry' presentations for the Fourth Congress which was to be held in Adelaide in 1921. (Also, listed in this report is Miss Martha Burns, who is named on the Honour Boards, is a fellow dentist, congress attendee and member of the then Odonatological Society.)
In 1912 Electoral Rolls, Ernest was listed as living in Adelaide Street, Clayfield, Brisbane19. The ‘Brisbane Courier’ newspaper on the 23rd July 1912 shows an advertisement of the new location of his dental practice at Rothwell’s Chambers, Edward Street, Brisbane20.
Marriage & family
It was a very busy year for Ernest, and on the 7 September 1912, at Scots Presbyterian Church Clayfield, Ernest married Nina Margaret Walker. The wedding was described in the ‘Brisbane Courier’ of 18 September:
"Dr Ernest S. Martin (son of Mr & Mrs Sidney Martin, Toowong) was married to Miss Nina Margaret Walker (daughter of Mrs M. A. Walker, Clayfield and the late Mr W. J. Walker, Melbourne). The ceremony was performed by the Rev. Scott Macdonald. …The bride, who was given away by her brother-in-law (Dr Espie Dods), wore a beautiful gown of Oriental ivory satin, with pannier overdress of silk crepe, finished with a square train; …Misses Florence Martin and Peggy Dods acted as bridesmaids.”
The following year, Ernest and Nina departed Brisbane for England on the ‘Ascanius’, a Blue Funnel Line ship, arriving in Liverpool, England on 23 January 191321. Ernest worked as an assistant to a Harley Street specialist while in London22.
Ernest and Nina's first child, Brian Reid Martin, was born in Fulham, Greater London, on 2 June 1913.
Move to Cologne
Ernest's quest for further experience and knowledge led him and the family to move again, this time to Cologne, Germany where he established a new practice. It was reported that Ernest was fluent in German and had a good knowledge of the country which would have helped with their move.
Taken Prisoner by the Germans
Unfortunately, and unbeknown to Ernest, this was just prior to the outbreak of the hostilities of WW1 and would have a devastating effect on the family.
An excerpt from the Facebook page of Australian Remembrance Army23 tells his story:
‘At the outbreak of war in 1914, whilst practising as a dentist in Cologne, Ernest was captured and imprisoned in a concentration camp at Sennelager. He was confined with two other Australians and approximately 40,000 other war prisoners who were mostly Frenchmen, Belgians or Russian Poles. Nina and son Brian were compelled to leave Cologne, returning to Australia. After five months of captivity, with the aid of a few friends in Cologne, Ernest was able to evade the guard on duty, and escape from the camp. He made his way by train and afoot to the Dutch border and eventually reached Holland. He then travelled to England and embarked for Australia on the ‘Mooltan’ on 10 January 1915. During his time at the camp at Sennelager, Ernest was shockingly treated, losing nearly 20kg from lack of food.
Ernest was reunited in Australia with his wife Nina and son Brian, and on 29 November 1915, they announced the birth of their second son, Merrill Reid Martin.’
In 1915, an advertisement stating that Ernest was commencing a Dental Practice Partnership in Queen Street, Brisbane appeared in the Brisbane Courier, Saturday 13 February 1915 on page 4 stating:
PARTNERSHIP NOTICE. Dr Walter F. Coe and Dr Ernest S. Martin (late of Harley Street, London and Cologne, Germany) Dental Surgeons, Colonial Mutual Buildings, Queen Street.
After his return to Australia, Dr E. S. Martin is recorded telling his story as a German POW in some detail at a Meeting of the Odonatological Society in 1916 held in the rooms of the Dental Hospital in Elizabeth Street, Brisbane. Ernest’s story was recorded in short in the Minutes24 viz:
“He was practicing in Cologne at the outbreak of hostilities and was heartlessly taken from his wife and child and placed in a prisoners’ camp where he endured great hardships. Later he was arrested and accused of spying. He served eleven days in solitary confinement, the last eight of which he was in a state of delirium. Eventually he made good his escape and reached the sunny shores of Queensland again.”
Enlistment and overseas service
Ernest and Nina Martin were living at Hockings Street, Eagle Junction when Ernest enlisted in the Australian Imperial Forces (AIF) on 3rd August 1916 as an Honorary Lieutenant as part of the 71st Dental Unit attached to the No. 14 Australian General Hospital, AIF. His Attestation Papers gave his birth in Melbourne, Victoria and at the time of enlistment he was 30 years and 2 months with his Religious Denomination as Presbyterian.
On 19 August 1916, Ernest embarked in Melbourne on the ‘Karoola’ arriving at Suez on 22 September. On 6 April 1917, Ernest was promoted to full Lieutenant (LR3101) while he was at Abbassia (now El-Abaseya, Cairo).
Unfortunately, eight months after serving at the hospital in Abbassia and not long after his promotion, Ernest fell ill and on the 23 May, 191725 he was admitted to hospital. He spent four days at the 14th AGH, but he was transferred via passenger train from Abbassia to the No. 10 B.R.C. (British Red Cross) Convalescent Hospital in Alexandria, some 226km away. Ernest was subsequently admitted to the No. 14 Australian General Hospital, Ibrahimieh (now Al Ibrahimiyyah, Alexandria, on the Mediterranean Sea) and returned to duty at the hospital on 8 June 1917. Four days later he was again unwell and readmitted to No 14 AGH at Abbassia on the outskirts of Cairo. In total, Ernest had spent 28 days in hospital with nervous exhaustion.
An undated copy of a medical report26 by Major L. S. Latham relating to Lieut. E. S. Martin gave his disease as “nervous exhaustion”. It said he was suffering from dyspepsia, defective vision through ciliary derangement and general nervous exhaustion. This was said to be caused originally by privations suffered as a prisoner in German concentration camp in 1914. His systems have been aggravated by eye strain in his work as a A.G.H. Dentist. He lost weight (9st 13lb normally 10st 9lb) and has been unable since 23 May 1917 to carry on his work, feeling tired and restless, lacking power of concentration, sleeping badly and having marked impairment of vision. It was recommended by Major Latham that he rest for several months to allow for full convalescence.
Ernest’s medical condition came before the Medical Board27 at the 14th Australian General Hospital on 20 June 1917 where it was decided to return him to Australia for six months.
On 11 July 1917, Ernest embarked on the A15 ‘Port Sydney’ at Cairo and returned to Melbourne, Australia for six months “change”. After six months he was still suffering nervous exhaustion and was struck off strength on 27 July 1917. On 4 September 1917, the Medical Board again met regarding the present state of health of Lieutenant E. S. Martin with Lieut. Colonel J. Espie Dods presiding. (Dr Espie Dods was also Ernest’s brother-in-law.)
Lieut. E. S. Martin’s appointment was formally terminated on 19 September 1917.
Lieutenant Ernest Sidney Martin was awarded the 1914-15 Star, the British War Medal (20670) and the Victory Medal (20134) for his overseas service.
Post War
By 1918, Ernest Sidney Martin and Nina Margaret Martin had had three sons, Brian Reid Martin born in London (2 June 1913), Merrill Reid Martin (29 Nov 1915 – after his return as a POW) and Leonard Reid Martin (15 March 1917 while Ernest was serving abroad).
Following his return to Brisbane after the war, Ernest was practicing as a Dentist in 1928 at 307 Queen Street, Brisbane28 but later moved to Wickham Terrace. He was a long-time member of the Odonatological Society of Queensland, with records showing his dental registration was as early as 191229,30. Dr Martin was re-installed as a member of the Odonatological Society of Queensland in November 1915 after his return from Germany and England.
Dr Martin attended many of the Dental Conferences in Australia, including Adelaide in 192131. He was also President of the Australian Dental Association (previously the Odonatological Society) in 193032.
Ernest was recognised in dental circles as a specialist in his class or work, practicing from his surgery at Inchcolm, on Wickham Terrace33. One of his main ambitions in his professional life was to keep abreast of latest developments in his area of expertise.
Dr Ernest Martin was a keen follower of sport, particularly tennis, cricket and golf and was a member of the Brisbane Golf Club34. Unfortunately, due to an illness later in life he had been unable to participate in any strenuous exercise. Dr E. S. Martin passed away unexpectedly on 14 February 1934 at the age of 47 years at his residence at Bayview Terrace, Clayfield.
Ernest was survived by his widow, Nina Margaret Martin and three sons Brian Reid Martin, Merrill Reid Martin and Leonard Reid Martin. His funeral was conducted at the Lutwyche Cemetery on 15 February 193435.
Post Notes:
1. Ernest and Nina’s three sons, Brian, Merrill and Leonard, all served in WW2. Brian was a Staff Sergeant in 15 Field Regiment, Merrill was a Private in the LHQ Training Centre, and his youngest son, Corporal Leonard Reid Martin (QX28977), was a member of the 2/31st Australian Infantry Battalion who was killed in action on 10 July 1945 at Balikpapan, Borneo.
2. The Australian Remembrance Army in 1922 restored the headstone of Lieutenant Martin and his wife, Nina, at Lutwyche Cemetery as part of a project they are undertaking. To see more go to their facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/groups/anzacday2020/posts/1020472702243798/
3. An excerpt from a Sermon from Collins Street Baptist Church, 8 July 2018 about “Owning Our Past: The people who have made us” gives an understanding of the important influence of Ernest’s grandparents Rev. James Martin and Mrs Hannah Martin had on society viz:
“The 48-year-old James Martin, graduate of London and Bonn Universities, was already established as one of Britain’s leading scholar-pastors. His reputation for fine preaching, scholarship and leadership was well known…
Martin and his wife Hannah — a woman of equal ability and influence — were an extraordinary team. Hannah led the church into ministry with the most marginalized people in the town. Hannah had little interest in the role of a traditional pastor’s wife. Her vision and calling were much broader. Though her efforts came under increasing public criticism, the church in her time redoubled its efforts and become one of the most active communities in Melbourne in service to the imprisoned, the disabled and the poor. All the while, James Martin was publishing scholarly works in New Testament and exercising leadership for the wider Baptist cause. He played a key role in the establishment of the Baptist Association, known today as the Baptist Union of Victoria.”
Select bibliography
1. Australia, Death Index 1787-1985, Sidney G. Martin, 1919, Hornsby NSW, Reg#25897
2. Balfour, Ian L.S., “Revival in Rose Street. Charlotte Baptist Chapel, Edinburg, 1808-2008”, 1856-1858: Rev. James Martin, BA, Page 54
3. Biography, The late Rev James Martin of Melbourne, The Queensland Evangelical Standard, 17 March 1877, Page 507, NLA.
4. Christmas Special: Collins Street Baptist Church, Interview Highlights, Vision Australia Radio, 20 Dec 2023.
5. Birth Index, Australia, 1788-1922, Jessie Eveline Morton, Page 10546, Reg#001096
6. Australian, Marriage Index 1788-1950, Reg # B009690, Page # 9326, 1885
7. New South Wales, Assisted Immigrant Passenger Lists, 1828-1896, Museums of History NSW, ancestry.com
8. Birth Index, Australia, 1788-1922, Ernest Sidney Martin, Reg#18844, 1886
9. NZ Birth Index (1889) Reg#1889/18014; Evelyn Mary Martin
10. NZ Birth Index (1891) Folio #2461 Florence Lilian Martin
11. Brisbane Grammar School Golden Book 3, L-P, Page 85, Ernest Stewart Martin.
12. Odontalogical Society of Queensland Minutes 1914-1923, 1914 List of Members.
13. Attestation Paper, Martin, Ernest Sidney, 8 August 1916, Australian Imperial Force.
14. Harvard Australian Studies Committee, Harvard University, Cambridge MA, USA, Australians at Harvard, Professor David Haig.
15. New York, US, List or Manifest of Alien Passengers for the U.S. Immigration Officer at Port of Arrival, 18 July 1906, for the S.S. Teutonic, 1820-1957 accessed from ancestry.com.au on 7 Feb 2026.
16. Catalogue of the University of Pennsylvania 1907/08, List of Students, Department of Dentistry, First Year Students, P 724, https:babel.hathitrust.org
17. Gilbert’s Studio, photographer. (1910). Dental School, Class of 1910, group portrait [Photograph:]. 2011:18, https://jstor.org/stable/community.22107080
18. Queensland Government Gazette, No 20, Vol. C, Page 346, 25th January 1913.
19. Electoral Rolls 1912, Division of Oxley, Brisbane.
20. The Brisbane Courier, Tue 23 July 1912, Page 6, Family Notices Advertising.
21. UK and Ireland, Incoming Passenger Lists, 1878-1960, #131312.
22. The Courier-Mail, Thursday 15 February 1934, Page 14. Obituary.
23. facebook.com/australianremembrancearmy/posts/Ernest-Sidney-Martin, accessed 26 Dec 2025, 4:58pm
24. Minutes of the Meeting of the Odonatological Society, held at the Dental Hospital Brisbane on 20 April 1916.
25. Casualty Form – Active Service, 14th Australian General Hospital, Lieutenant E. S. Martin, 23 May – 17 July 1917.
26. Attestation Papers of Ernest Sidney Martin, WW1 Service Records 1914-1920, Medical Case Sheet, Army Form I.1237 (undated).
27. Proceedings of A Medical Board, 20 June 1917, Reporting on Lieut. Ernest S. Martin of the 14th AGH (Dental) Service.
28. 1928 Queensland Post Office Directory (Wise), MAR p 921
29. The Odontological Society of Queensland, 2, 1914-1923, Minutes of Meetings.
30. The Telegraph, Sat 13 July 1912, page 9, Dental Congress.
31. Table Talk, Melbourne 1885-1939, Social, 25 Aug 1927, page 50.
32. The Brisbane Courier, Fri 31 Jan 1930, Page 20, School Medical Banquet.
33. The Telegraph, Tue 3 Jul 1934, Page 12, Family Notices.
34. The Telegraph, Fri 23 Mar 1923, Page 7, Golf.
35. Courier-Mail, Thursday 15 February 1934, page 14. Obituary Dr E. S. Martin.
36. Owning Our Past: the people who have made us., Hebrews 11.1-12.2, Collins Street Baptist Church, 8 July 2018, James Martin (1869-1877), page 4, https://www.csbc.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/Hebrews-11.1-%E2%80%93-12.2.pdf
Researched and written by Miriam King, March 2026. ©
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