John Martin (Royal Navy officer)

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Sir John Martin
Born(1918-05-10)10 May 1918
Cheam, Surrey
Died31 May 2011(2011-05-31) (aged 93)
AllegianceUnited Kingdom
Service/branchRoyal Navy
Years of service1938–1973
RankVice Admiral
Commands heldBritish Forces Gulf (1967–68)
Britannia Royal Naval College (1963–66)
Battles/warsSecond World War
Aden Emergency
AwardsKnight Commander of the Order of the Bath
Distinguished Service Cross
Mentioned in Despatches

Vice Admiral Sir John Edward Ludgate Martin, KCB, DSC (10 May 1918 – 31 May 2011) was a Royal Navy officer and Lieutenant Governor of Guernsey.

Naval career[edit]

Martin joined the Royal Navy in 1938.[1] He served in the Second World War, taking part in the Dunkirk evacuation when his ship, Sun Tug 15, undertook four trips to Dunkirk to pick up evacuees.[2] He also served as a navigation officer in the Mediterranean and took part in the invasion of Sicily in 1943.[1]

Martin was appointed deputy director of Manpower Planning at the Admiralty in 1959, Senior Naval Officer in the West Indies in 1961 and Commander of British Forces in the Caribbean Area in 1962.[1] He went on to be Captain at the Royal Naval College, Dartmouth in 1963, Flag Officer, Middle East in 1966 and Commander of British Forces in the Gulf in 1967.[1] His last appointments were as Director General of Naval Personal Services and Training in 1968 and Deputy Supreme Allied Commander Atlantic in 1970; he retired in 1973.[1]

In retirement he became Lieutenant Governor of Guernsey.[1] He died on 31 May 2011.[3]

Family[edit]

In 1942 Martin married Rosemary Ann Deck;[4] they had two sons and two daughters.[5]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c d e f Liddell Hart Centre for Military Archives
  2. ^ Obituary: Vice Admiral Sir John Martin, The Times, 8 June 2011
  3. ^ Former Guernsey governor Sir John Martin dies BBC News, 6 June 2011
  4. ^ House of Martin: Photos Archived 3 May 2011 at the Wayback Machine
  5. ^ Debrett's People of Today 1994
Military offices
Preceded by Deputy Supreme Allied Commander Atlantic
1970–1973
Succeeded by
Preceded by Flag Officer, Middle East
1966–1967
Succeeded by
None
Government offices
Preceded by Lieutenant Governor of Guernsey
1974–1980
Succeeded by