James (Jim) Martin

One of the soldiers who chose to fight in Gallipoli was James (Jim) Martin he was born on the 3rd of January 1901 in New South Wales. As a kid his dad was rejected from the army and he was determined to fill his spot. He threatened to run away from if his parents if they did not sign the permission note to join the army and to completely cut off communication with them. James (Jim) faked his age to get into the army and enlisted for the AIF (Australian Imperial Force) at the age of 14 years old on the 12th of April 1915 against the wishes of his family.

According to The Australian War Memorial a website created in 1980 stated that he was in the 21st infantry battalion and on the way over to Gallipoli the transport boat they were aboard was torpedoed by a German Submarine and James (Jim) and several others spent several hours in the water before being rescued. He arrived in the early hours of the 7th of September 1915 serving in the area between ANZAC cove and Gallipoli Peninsula.