Title and statement of responsibility area
Title proper
Correspondence
General material designation
Parallel title
Other title information
Title statements of responsibility
Title notes
Level of description
Series
Reference code
Edition area
Edition statement
Edition statement of responsibility
Class of material specific details area
Statement of scale (cartographic)
Statement of projection (cartographic)
Statement of coordinates (cartographic)
Statement of scale (architectural)
Issuing jurisdiction and denomination (philatelic)
Dates of creation area
Date(s)
Physical description area
Physical description
6 cm
Publisher's series area
Title proper of publisher's series
Parallel titles of publisher's series
Other title information of publisher's series
Statement of responsibility relating to publisher's series
Numbering within publisher's series
Note on publisher's series
Archival description area
Name of creator
Biographical history
John Gartshore Martin, Col. DSO, MID, Q.C., was an officer in World War II and later became a lawyer in Kitchener, Ontario. The youngest son of John Alexander and Jessie (Wilson) Martin, John studied at the University of Toronto and was employed at the Waterloo Manufacturing Co. Ltd. until he enlisted in the Canadian army in 1941. At that time, he was posted to the Highland Light Infantry regiment as a reinforcement officer with the rank of 2nd Lieutenant. Before enlisting, he was a member of the Scots Fusiliers of Canada and trained with them at Niagara, Brockville, and Camp Borden. He also worked on staff at a military school in Vernon, British Columbia before being posted overseas in September, 1943. In 1944 he was transferred to the Lincoln and Welland Regiment (infantry), which participated in the landing at Normandy and the Allied advance through Belgium, the Netherlands and into Germany. Martin was promoted to the rank of Major and was awarded several medals, including a Distinguished Service Order and mention in despatches. After returning to Kitchener in 1946, he married his fiance Mary Ann Kabel (daughter of Mr. And Mrs. Art Kabel of Kitchener) and enrolled in law school at Osgoode Hall. Upon graduating in 1949, he practiced law in Kitchener and retired as a senior partner of the law firm Clement, Eastman, Dreger, Martin & Meunier. Martin was involved in community service at St. Andrew's Presbyterian Church and several organizations in the Kitchener-Waterloo area. He and Mary Ann had three children: Cathryn Jean, John Jamieson, and David Alexander.
Custodial history
Scope and content
Series consists of 140 pieces of correspondence and a small amount of related ephemera and clippings. Includes mainly letters written to John Alexander and Jessie Martin from John Gartshore Martin during his service with the Canadian military during World War II, describing his daily activities, social outings, leaves, meetings with friends and relatives, and general news about the war.
Series also contains several letters from Wilson Martin, Jamie Martin, Jamie's financee Muriel Clift, and several other correspondents. The correspondence is in the form of letters, many of which include the original envelopes and stamps; aerograms with original stamps; and telegrams. Series also includes a small amount of correspondence between John Gartshore Martin and an acquaintance from Holland (1994-2004).
Notes area
Physical condition
Immediate source of acquisition
Arrangement
Language of material
- English
- Dutch