Edward Fowell Martin Brigadier General Edward Fowell Martin CB , CMG , DSO ( 22 August 1875 – 22 September 1950 ) was an Australian Army Brigadier General who served in World War I . Early life and career . Edward Fowell Martin was born in Launceston , Tasmania on 22 August 1875 . The family moved to New South Wales where Martin was educated at King ' s College , Goulburn . He worked as an accountant in a bank before joining a woolbroking firm . Martin joined the Army Service Corps as a private in 1898 . He was commissioned in 1903 and reached the rank of major on 1 August 1913 . World War I . On 18 August 1914 , Martin joined the Australian Naval and Military Expeditionary Force ( AN & MEF ) . The force sailed for New Guinea on the HMAT Berrima . On 14 September 1914 , he led the advance on Toma , where the German acting governor had established his headquarters . After the German surrender , Martin landed at Madang with a half company of infantry and a half company of naval reservists for a garrison and took charge there . He was District Administrator until February 1915 , after which he returned to Australia where his appointment to the AN & MEF was terminated on 4 March 1915 . On 7 May 1915 , Martin was appointed to the First Australian Imperial Force as a major in the 17th Battalion . The battalion left for Egypt on 12 May 1915 , where Martin became second in command of the battalion on 2 June 1915 . The battalion arrived at Anzac on 19 August 1915 where it was committed to Battle of Hill 60 on 27 to 29 August , taking many casualties . In September the battalion took over at Quinn ' s Post . Martin contracted dysentery and was evacuated to Egypt on 13 September 1915 . He returned on 8 December 1915 , just before the evacuation . The 17th Battalion departed Alexandria for Marseilles on 23 March 1916 . Martin was appointed to command the 17th Battalion with the rank of lieutenant colonel on 19 April 1916 in place of Lieutenant Colonel Goddard , who had been evacuated to Australia sick . The 17th Battalion was committed to Pozieres in July and took heavy casualties . The battalion remained in the line , participating in the capture of the Pozieres . For his performance — and that of his battalion at Pozieres , Martin was mentioned in dispatches and awarded the Distinguished Service Order ( DSO ) . Martin was evacuated with the flu on 23 December 1916 , returning to the 17th on 17 February 1917 . During the German counterattack at Lagnicourt in April 1917 , Martin ' s headquarters was caught up in the fighting . At Menin Road on 20 September 1917 , he moved it into a shell hole in the front line so as to better supervise the defence effort . Martin was mentioned in dispatches twice more in 1917 and he was made a Companion of St Michael and St George ( CMG ) . Martin was made a brevet lieutenant colonel in the AMF on 24 September 1917 . On 9 March 1918 , Martin became temporary command of the 7th Brigade . On 29 March 1918 Martin became a temporary colonel . He relinquished command on 3 May 1915 and immediately took over command of the 5th Brigade . On 28 June 1918 , the position became permanent and Martin became a temporary brigadier general . He was promoted to colonel in the AMF on 9 July 1918 . On 31 August 1918 , the 5th Brigade took Mont St Quentin , the capture of Mont St Quentin by the men of the 2nd Division was widely regarded as the finest fighting feat of the war . For his part in the 1918 fighting , Martin was mentioned in dispatches three more times and was made a Companion of the Bath ( CB ) on 3 June 1919 . He left for Australia on 12 July 1919 , arriving in Sydney on 26 August 1919 . He appointment to the AIF was terminated on 8 December 1919 . Post war . In 1924 Martin moved to Perth where he became an accountant with The West Australian newspaper . In 1932 he was appointed sergeant - at - arms of the Western Australian Legislative Assembly . He carried the mace for the next eighteen years . During World War II he helped organise the Volunteer Defence Corps in Perth . He died on 22 September 1950 .