The family moved to New South Wales where Martin was educated at King's College, Goulburn.
On 18 August 1914 Martin joined the Australian Naval and Military Expeditionary Force (AN&MEF).
On 14 September 1914 he led the advance on Toma, where the German acting governor had established his headquarters.
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.
The battalion arrived at Anzac on 19 August where it was committed to the Battle of Hill 60, taking many casualties.
For his performance—and that of his battalion at Pozières, Martin was mentioned in despatches and awarded the Distinguished Service Order (DSO).
At Menin Road on 20 September, he moved it into a shell hole in the front line so as to better supervise the defence effort.
For his part in the 1918 fighting, Martin was mentioned in despatches three more times and was made a Companion of the Order of the Bath (CB) on 3 June 1919.