Tuesday, 4th January, 1916
Wilfrid's letter came this morning also
one from Mrs. Hurndell & Madeline Waldron
to say they had put the matter of enquiries
into Cox & Co's hands. They told her
about the cables not getting through
to Salonika & said they would cable
Malta & Alexandria but of course.
we know you are not there as Marie
has been on the look out for you since
she heard you were wounded. Ernest
Lambkin would know if you were there
Lieut. Turner came out to tea I asked
Uncle Charlie to meet him. Turner
was very sorry indeed to hear you were
reported missing & supposed you were
captured in an Ambulance or in the
retirement. He told how he got a
message from you that youwere wounded
& to take over Command & that he tried
to get along the lines to where you were
but was wounded before reaching you.
His wound seems very slight & he was
awfully lucky to get a ship home.
He described the terrible time you had &
how the Bulgarians crept upon you in the mist
(No Reference Available)
Wilfrid Fitzgerald
A cousin of the Martin family. ? Hurndell
Unidentified as yet. Madeline Waldron
Unidentified as yet. Cox & Co.
Regimental agents and paymasters for the British Army. They were often a good source of information on prisoners of war. Salonika
Large city in Greece and disembarkation point for the ill-fated Allied attempt to aid Serbia against Germany and her ally Bulgaria. This was the nearest Allied city to where Charles Martin died. Malta
Mediterranean island south of Sicily and part of the British Empire. Marie Martin served there as a VAD from October 1915 to April 1916. Alexandria
An Egyptian port city on the Mediterranean coast and part of a British Mandate during this period. The port was a troop disembarkation centre for the Salonika front and a rest area for wounded soldiers. Charles Andrew Martin
Born 3 June 1895, Charles Andrew was Mary Martin's son. This diary is dedicated to him. He was reported wounded and missing in December 1915 and died of his wounds on December 8 while in Bulgarian captivity, aged 20. However it wasn't until July 1 1916 that official confirmation of his death was received. Marie Helena Martin
Born 25 April 1892 and died 27 January 1975. Marie Helena was Mary Martin's daughter and worked in Malta and France as a VAD nurse during the First World War. In 1937 she founded the religious order Medical Missionaries of Mary. Ernest Lambkin
Close family friend of the Martins. Lieutenant Turner
Unidentified as yet. Charles O. Martin
Born in 1871. Mary Martin's brother-in-law, known in the family as Uncle Charlie. He took Marie Martin, Mary's daughter, to the West Indies in 1911 after his wife died (in August 1911). |