Alfred Thomas Martin was born on 15 th September 1882 in Edmonton, Middlesex, to Lizia Martin, a 16-year-old domestic
servant. His father is unknown. Lizia’s mother coincidentally had a son soon afterwards, and so Alfred was brought up as a ‘twin’
thinking that Lizia was his sister. The family moved to Colchester, where Alfred went to school. His first job was as a fitter.
On discovering the truth of his upbringing, he left home in December 1899 to join the 1st Battalion Essex Regiment Army Reserve
and was 5644 Private Alfred Martin, initially training at Warley Barracks and then transferring to Colchester for mounted
Infantry training with the 4th (Militia) Battalion. Here he met Second-Lieutenant Edward Maitland, and at some point, he acted
as his batman for 2½ years, which led to a lifelong bond.
In 1901-02, Alfred served with the Mounted Infantry Company of the 1st Battalion Essex Regiment in the South African Boer
War and later the 10th Battalion Mounted Infantry, probably under Maitland’s command. He was awarded the Queen’s South
Africa Medal with five clasps.
Between April 1904 and March 1907, Alfred served with the 2nd Battalion, Essex Regiment in Malta. After 8 years’ Army service,
including 2 years abroad, he transferred to the Army Reserve in December 1907. He took a civilian job at the Hoffmann
Manufacturing Company in Chelmsford, Essex, where he met Winifred Wallis. They were married on 20 th March 1909 and
subsequently had 5 children –two sons and three daughters.
On 15th October 1912, Alfred was discharged as ‘Free’, after nearly 5 years ‘exemplary’ service in the Reserve. In c1913, Alfred
and his family moved to Hampshire, where he joined the Navy as an Aircraft Mechanic 1 st Grade at the Royal Naval Air Service
(RNAS) Station in Farnborough. He had assignments to HMS Pembroke Naval Barracks in Chatham, where he was promoted to
Leading Mechanic and with HMS President, Admiralty, London, where he became a Petty Officer Mechanic. During 1915 andIn
1916, he saw active service in France for 3 months.
The family moved to Pembrokeshire, Wales, around 1916, and Alfred was stationed at RNAS Pembroke Airship Station at Carew,
but with periods away at HMS Daedalus RNAS Station at Lee-on-Solent and HMS President in Wapping. In April 1917, he was
promoted to Chief Petty Officer, and he was awarded the ‘Good Conduct Badge’. On 31st March 1918, he was transferred from
the RNAS to the RAF on its formation. No formal records have been found detailing Alfred’s role with airships throughout his
RNAS or RAF career, although anecdotal family stories suggest that he was a member of the flight crew on wartime anti-
submarine airship patrols for at least part of the time under Maitland’s command.
After the end of World War 1 in 1918, Alfred and his family moved to South Norfolk, where he was stationed at the RAF Pulham
Airship Station, commanded by Colonel Edward Maitland. On 19th March 1919, Alfred was awarded the ‘1914 Star’.
Maitland was a pioneer and strong advocate for the development and use of parachutes, and Alfred is thought to have been a
member of his special experimental team at Pulham. Family stories suggest that he was also involved in the production and in-
flight control of hydrogen for the airships. Both of these tasks are clearly hazardous.
From April 1920, Alfred – now Flight Sergeant – worked away from home at RNAS Howden Airship Station near Hull, with a brief
assignment in Colchester. Edward Maitland – Brigadier General, Supervisor of Airships – was in overall command.
On 23rd June 1921, the newly constructed, last and largest, Government-sponsored military Airship – the 700-foot-long ‘rigid’
‘R38’ – was flown to Howden from the workshops at Cardington, Bedfordshire, to begin proving trials, before being re-numbered
ZR2 was sold to the USA Navy.
The details of the final proving flight of R38 from Howden to Pulham commencing at 7.10 am on 23 rd August 1921, are well
documented. On arrival at Pulham, it was due to be handed over to the US Navy crew and flown across the Atlantic. Alfred was
evidently added late to the crew, and he is thought to have been Maitland’s assistant and observer. His final poignant and
emotional letter to Winnie, dated 21 st August, does not clarify this. Fog prevented the intended landing at Pulham that evening
or the next morning. Instead, R38 and its exhausted crew headed back to Howden, reaching the River Humber and Hull dockside
late afternoon on 24 th August. In front of thousands of people on the riverside, R38 turned sharply, and a catastrophic structural
failure caused it to break in half, followed by two huge gas explosions and a petrol fire across the river as the wreckage entered
the water. Alfred was found dead, hanging, trapped by his parachute from a girder, having suffered severe burns. He was 38
years old. Alfred’s friend and mentor, Air Commodore Edward Maitland, also died aged 41. There were 6 survivors from the 49
personnel on board, including the badly injured Captain Archie Wann and one of the 17 USA Navy crew. Captain Wann sent an
emotional letter of condolence to Alfred’s widow Winnie from the hospital.
Alfred’s funeral was on 31 st August 1921 and he was buried in Pulham St Mary Magdalene Churchyard.
[Julie Walton née Martin – great-granddaughter and Kenneth Martin – grandson – March 2026]
With thanks to Ken Martin for providing this information on behalf of the Martin family