Martin, Private Albert Joseph

Service highlights

  • Service number: A105148
  • Rank: Private
  • Born: 24 October 1923 in Blanshard Township
  • Before the war: Finished Grade 8 in 1938, worked on his father’s farm, later a construction labourer with Frid Construction at the Crumlin Airport east of London
  • Enlisted: 5 November 1942 in the Canadian Active Service Force at London
  • Training: 13 Canadian Army Basic Training Centre in Listowel, then A29 Infantry Training Centre at Camp Ipperwash
  • Overseas: 27 March 1943
  • Reinforcement and unit: Briefly with 8 Canadian Infantry Reinforcement Unit, then transferred to The Perth Regiment on 18 June 1943
  • Theatre of war: Italy from October 1943
  • Wounded in action: 27 May 1944, shrapnel wound to the right ankle, returned to the Perths on 24 August 1944
  • Killed in action: 1 September 1944 during the fighting around Point 204 on the Gothic Line
  • Burial: Montecchio War Cemetery
  • Family: Survived by his parents, William and Florence Martin of Prospect Hill, later Granton
  • Commemorated: Rannoch cenotaph and the World War II plaque at St. Marys Town Hall

A Life and Service Remembered

Albert Joseph Martin was born in Blanshard Township on 24 October 1923. Like many young men of his generation, he left school early. He finished Grade 8 in 1938, then went straight into work, first on his father’s farm and later as a construction labourer. It is the kind of background that rarely gets a spotlight, but it speaks to a life built on effort and responsibility.

He enlisted in London on 5 November 1942 and trained through the winter and spring. In March 1943 he went overseas, and after a short time in England with a reinforcement unit he was transferred to the Perth Regiment. By October 1943 he was in Italy with the battalion, moving into the hard sequence of river lines, valleys, and towns that defined the campaign.

On 2 June 1944 his family received a telegram reporting he had been officially listed as slightly wounded in action on 27 May. He had been fighting in The book record adds Liri Valley when he suffered a shrapnel wound to his right ankle. For his parents, that message would have carried two truths at once, fear and relief. He recovered, and by 24 August 1944 he rejoined his unit, preparing for the Battle of the Gothic line.

A week later, the Perths attacked forward in the Foggia Valley and captured Point 204, key ground on the Gothic Line. During the night of 31 August into 1 September, German forces counterattacked and the fighting turned savage and confused. By early morning the line was stabilized, but the casualties were heavy. Private Martin had been killed during the attack sometime that night.

On 12 September 1944, another telegram reached home, this one stating he had been officially reported killed in action on 1 September 1944. He was buried at Montecchio War Cemetery in Italy. He is remembered in the places that shaped him and claimed him, by his family in the Granton area, on the cenotaph in Rannoch, and on the St. Marys Town Hall plaque.

Major battles and operations

  • Italy, late 1943: Served with the Perth Regiment through early actions including the Riccio River fighting
  • Liri Valley, spring 1944: Wounded by shrapnel on 27 May 1944, returned to the unit on 24 August 1944
  • Gothic Line operations, 31 August to 1 September 1944:
    • Attack across the Foggia Valley with the Cape Breton Highlanders and the Irish Regiment of Canada
    • Advance supported by tanks from Lord Strathcona’s Horse, Royal Canadians
    • Capture of Point 204
    • German counterattack beginning about 1:30 a.m. on 1 September, followed by close fighting through the night
    • Killed in action during the night of 31 August to 1 September 1944

Learn More