Henry Robert Charles Martin (1889 – 1942) was a long-serving

officer of arms An officer of arms is a person appointed by a sovereign or state with authority to perform one or more of the following functions: * to control and initiate armorial matters; * to arrange and participate in ceremonies of state; * to conserve a ...

at the

College of Arms The College of Arms, or Heralds' College, is a royal corporation consisting of professional officers of arms, with jurisdiction over England, Wales, Northern Ireland and some Commonwealth realms. The heralds are appointed by the British Sovere ...

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

and a male English international

badminton Badminton is a racquet sport played using racquets to hit a shuttlecock across a net. Although it may be played with larger teams, the most common forms of the game are "singles" (with one player per side) and "doubles" (with two players p ...

player.

Profile

Born at

Maskeliya Maskeliya is a town in the Central Province of Sri Lanka. It is the site of the 1974 crash of Martinair Flight 138, the worst air disaster in Sri Lanka. It is known for its mountains, waterfalls, unique ethnic background and estates. The act ...

, Ceylon, the eldest son of Henry Thomas Martin, later of

South Kensington South Kensington, nicknamed Little Paris, is a district just west of Central London in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. Historically it settled on part of the scattered Middlesex village of Brompton. Its name was supplanted with ...

, Martin was educated at Bedford School, then at Lincoln College, Oxford. He was called to the bar from the

Middle Temple The Honourable Society of the Middle Temple, commonly known simply as Middle Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court exclusively entitled to call their members to the English Bar as barristers, the others being the Inner Temple, Gray's Inn ...

in 1912. He represented England as a

player. During the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, he served as a captain in the

East Lancashire Regiment The East Lancashire Regiment was, from 1881 to 1958, a line infantry regiment of the British Army. The regiment was formed in 1881 under the Childers Reforms by the amalgamation of the 30th (Cambridgeshire) Regiment of Foot and 59th (2nd Nottingh ...

, and in the Intelligence Department from 1938-41. His first heraldic appointment came on 31 May 1922 when he was made Rouge Croix Pursuivant of Arms in Ordinary to replace

Archibald George Blomefield Russell Archibald George Blomefield Russell (20 June 1879 – 30 November 1955) was an English art historian and a long-serving Officer of Arms, officer of arms at the College of Arms in London. Early life Russell was the fourth son of Theodosius Stuart ...

. He held this position until 2 August 1928 when he was promoted to the office of Richmond Herald of Arms in Ordinary to replace

Gerald Wollaston Sir Gerald Woods Wollaston (2 June 1874 – 4 March 1957) was a long-serving officer of arms at the College of Arms in London. Wollaston's family had a firm tradition at the College of Arms. Wollaston's great-grandfather was Sir William Woods, ...

. Martin was elected a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries in 1930. He held this office until his death from heart failure on 23 July 1942. In 1914, Martin had married Mary Gladys, daughter of the Rev. John Whitby St Quintin, M.A., rector of Hatley St George, Cambridge; they had three daughters: Diana, Pamela (who married, in 1936, John Maitland Cowper, of

Barclays Bank Barclays () is a British multinational universal bank, headquartered in London, England. Barclays operates as two divisions, Barclays UK and Barclays International, supported by a service company, Barclays Execution Services. Barclays traces ...

), and June.

Badminton career

He was part of the English team that toured Canada in 1925 to promote the sport on behalf of the Canadian Badminton Association which had recently been formed in 1921. He lived in Earls Terrace London at the time.

Arms

References

The College of Arms
{{DEFAULTSORT:Martin, Henry Robert Charles 1889 births 1942 deaths English officers of arms English genealogists English male non-fiction writers English male badminton players 20th-century English male writers

Profile

Badminton career

Arms

See also

References