Walter John Martin DCM (born 14 May 1883 in

Woodford Woodford may refer to: Places Australia *Woodford, New South Wales *Woodford, Queensland, a town in the Moreton Bay Region *Woodford, Victoria Canada * Woodford, Ontario England *Woodford, Cornwall * Woodford, Gloucestershire *Woodford, Greate ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

) was a Wales international

rugby union Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In its m ...

player. He played club rugby predominantly for Newport, captaining the side and played county rugby for

Monmouthshire Monmouthshire ( cy, Sir Fynwy) is a county in the south-east of Wales. The name derives from the historic county of the same name; the modern county covers the eastern three-fifths of the historic county. The largest town is Abergavenny, with ...

. While playing for Newport, Martin faced the three major Southern Hemisphere teams,

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

and

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

. At international level he represented

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...

on three occasions.Welsh Rugby Union player profiles
/ref>

Club career

Martin joined Newport Rugby Club in 1904, and during his career would captain the club during one of the most successful era's for the club. At Newport he formed an incredibly successful partnership with

Tommy Vile Major Thomas Henry Vile MBE (6 September 1882 – 30 October 1958) was a Welsh international rugby union player. He played club rugby predominantly for Newport, captaining the side twice and played county rugby for Monmouthshire. He also repres ...

, and they would face the touring New Zealanders, South Africans and Australians together.

International career

Martin made his debut for

against Ireland at the Balmoral Showgrounds on 9 March 1912 as part of the

Five Nations Championship The Six Nations Championship (known as the Guinness Six Nations for sponsorship reasons) is an annual international men's rugby union competition between the teams of England, France, Ireland, Italy, Scotland and Wales. The current champions ar ...

. In an inexperienced team, Martin was one of seven new caps, under the captaincy of

Jack Bancroft Jack Bancroft (9 October 1879 – 7 January 1942),
Scrum.com born John Bancroft, was a Wales, Welsh cricketer, and rugby union ...

, and although leading at half time the team lost 12-5. Despite the loss, Martin was back for the next match, and this time finished on the winning side. Martin did not play for Wales the next season, but was back after the First World War, in a game against the New Zealand Army, which is now recognised as an international game. Martin was not the first choice in the New Zealand game, as the selectors had chosen Cardiff's Clem Lewis, but Lewis had picked up an injury playing for the British Army team. Martin was drafted in as a late replacement but during the game injured his head saving a try. Martin was removed from play, but later recovered and resumed the game, although his play was not as strong after the event.Billot (1972), pg 51. Martin's three caps were all played in partnership with Newport team mate, Tommy Vile.

International games played

WalesSmith (1980), pg 469. * 1912 * 1912 *

New Zealand Army , image = New Zealand Army Logo.png , image_size = 175px , caption = , start_date = , country = , branch = ...

1919

Military service and later life

In World War I Martin served in the

South Wales Borderers The South Wales Borderers was a line infantry regiment of the British Army in existence for 280 years. It came into existence in England in 1689, as Sir Edward Dering's Regiment of Foot, and afterwards had a variety of names and headquarters. In ...

and was awarded the

Distinguished Conduct Medal The Distinguished Conduct Medal was a decoration established in 1854 by Queen Victoria for gallantry in the field by other ranks of the British Army. It is the oldest British award for gallantry and was a second level military decoration, ranki ...

for his actions during the war. On his return he rejoined Newport and worked for

Great Western Railway The Great Western Railway (GWR) was a British railway company that linked London with the southwest, west and West Midlands of England and most of Wales. It was founded in 1833, received its enabling Act of Parliament on 31 August 1835 and ran ...

Newport Docks Newport Docks is the collective name for a group of docks in the city of Newport, south-east Wales. By the eighteenth century there were a number of wharves on the west shore of the River Usk; iron and coal were the principal outward traffic. Th ...

, but in 1933 he was diagnosed with terminal cancer. Martin, who had suffered from depression, hanged himself while receiving treatment as a long term patient at

St Woolos Hospital Saint Woolos Hospital (Welsh: Ysbyty Sant Gwynllyw) is located in the Stow Hill area of Newport, Wales. It is managed by the Aneurin Bevan University Health Board. History The site for the hospital was donated by Sir Charles Morgan, 2nd Baronet ...

on 30 April 1933.

Bibliography

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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Martin, Walter 1883 births 1933 deaths 1933 suicides British Army personnel of World War I Rugby union fly-halves English rugby union players Wales international rugby union players Welsh rugby union players Newport RFC players Monmouthshire County RFC players Recipients of the Distinguished Conduct Medal South Wales Borderers soldiers Suicides by hanging in Wales Rugby union players from the London Borough of Redbridge People from Woodford, London People educated at Newport High School