The Martins

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Newspaper article - Howard Allan Martin_Prisoner of War

RSL (Port Pirie Sub Branch) Inc.

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Ermyntrude Mary Martin (Ermy), born 9th December 1914 and Norma Grace Martin born 28th June 1916, were both born in Crystal Brook, South Australia to Alfred John Martin and Mary Inglis Martin (née Venning). 

Both trained nurses in civilian life, they enlisted into the Australian Army Nursing Service (AANS) in the last quarter of 1942. 

Lieutenant Ermyntrude Mary Martin, Service Numbers S111652 and SX27208, served overseas for 355 days in Port Moresby and Lae, New Guinea with the 2nd/9th Australia General Hospital arriving on the hospital ship AHS Manunda on 15th March 1944. Returning to Australia, Ermy had contracted Malaria. Ermy also served with 105th Australian Military Hospital, 103rd Australian General Hospital,121st Australian General Hospital, 2nd/11th Australia General Hospital and 104th Australian Casualty Clearing Station.

Norma Grace Martin, Service Numbers S111815 and SFX27547, only served in Australia; despite the SX prefix on her second service number (X denotes overseas service). She was called up for full time duty for the AANS with the rank of Sister Group 2. She served at 32nd Australian Camp Hospital in Sandy Creek, South Australia before being seconded to the Australian Infantry Force (AIF) with the rank of Lieutenant and detached to 129th Australian General Hospital in Darwin, Northern Territory. Norma also served with 121st Australian General Hospital. Norma married while she was enlisted and soon after completed a course at the School of Army Cooking and Catering.

Their brother, Howard Allan Martin (Allan), enlisted into the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) as a wireless operator air gunner. He was captured as a Prisoner of War (POW) in Libya when the Vickers Wellington aircraft he was crew in, crashed in the desert. He returned to Australia after the war and married a pen pal in Port Pirie who was from England and who wrote to him while he was in a German POW camp, striking up a friendship that later became one of matrimony.

Ermyntrude and Norma discharged from the Australian Army Nursing Service on 2nd April 1947 and 17th January 1945 respectively.

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