Horace Robert Martineau Horace Robert Martineau VC ( 31 October 1874 – 7 April 1916 ) was a British recipient of the Victoria Cross , the highest award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces . Military career . Born and educated in London , Martineau enlisted in the 11th Hussars in 1891 . He served in Natal and in India before buying his discharge and returning to South Africa in 1895 . The next year he served in Colonel Sir Robert Baden - Powell ' s campaign against the Matebele , after which he joined the Cape Police . Second Boer War . On the outbreak of the Second Boer War in 1899 , Martineau joined the Protectorate Regiment ( N . W . Cape Colony ) as a sergeant . He was awarded the VC in an action near Mafeking . His citation in the London Gazette reads : World War I . After the War Martineau took up employment with the African Boating Company in Durban , specialising in support to military forces . He joined the Durban Militia Reserve in 1903 attaining the rank of Captain before visiting New Zealand in 1914 when the First World War broke out . He immediately joined up as a territorial officer in the 14th ( South Otago ) Regiment , and enlisted as Lieutenant Martineau VC Battalion Transport Officer in the Otago Infantry Battalion , of the New Zealand Expeditionary Force . He subsequently served in Suez and at Gallipoli with the New Zealand Infantry Brigade , New Zealand and Australian Division of the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps ANZAC . After falling ill in the Gallipoli area of operations Martineau was evacuated to Egypt . After recovering he was visiting the " Kursaal " ( public area of the town ) in Alexandria on the evening of 17 September 1915 , where in a cafe called the Pallotta Court he met Captain Hunt and Lieutenant King of the Royal Army Medical Corps . Unfortunately he became involved in an altercation with Captain Hunt which involved Martineau ' s use of insubordinate language . After an investigation of the charge the Commandant of Base Headquarters Alexandria , Brigadier - General McGregor , sent a letter to General Headquarters at Mudros on 21 September 1915 recommending that as Martineau was in possession of the VC " “ his services be dispensed with without trial and that he be sent back to New Zealand ” " . While waiting for a verdict on his future Martineau once again fell ill and was admitted to No . 2 Australian General Hospital at Ghezireh on 1 November with Colitis ( inflammation of the gastrointestinal system ) . He was moved a week later to the New Zealand General Hospital at Pont de Kubba near Cairo and remained there until being discharged to board the Hospital Ship Maheno , which departed Suez for New Zealand on 29 November 1915 . Martineau arrived back in New Zealand on New Year ' s Day 1916 and was granted sick leave . But the leave pass he was issued was worthless because he was no longer a member of the New Zealand Expeditionary Force . On 24 February 1916 the New Zealand Gazette issued an order under the authority of James Allen the Minister for Defence : " Lieutenant Horace Robert Martineau , V . C . , attached to 14th ( South Otago ) Regiment is struck off the strength of the N . Z . Expeditionary Force , under the provisions of paragraph 11 ( 1 ) , Expeditionary Force Act , 1915 , with effect from 1st January , 1916 . " This was an ignominious end for a military hero whose enlistment in the New Zealand Army had been so broadly congratulated and publicised . As his health deteriorated Martineau remained in Dunedin instead of returning to South Africa . Serious stomach problems continued to afflict Martineau and contributed to his death just three months after returning from overseas service . He died in Dunedin Hospital on 7 April 1916 as a result of Gastritis and Haematemesis ( the vomiting of blood due to prolonged erosion of the stomach lining ) and was subsequently buried in Anderson ’ s Bay Cemetery , Dunedin among other returned servicemen . As the illness was a continuation of the sickness he first contracted while on Gallipoli , Martineau was categorised as having died after discharge from the NZEF from disease contracted while on active service , and was included in the roll of honour listing New Zealand ’ s war dead . Medal . Horace Martineau ' s VC and other campaign medals were sold at auction by Spink of London for £90 , 000 on 9 May 2002 . The VC was bought for Lord Ashcroft ' s VC Collection and is on display at the Lord Ashcroft VC Gallery in the Imperial War Museum in London .