James Fitzgerald Martin


James Fitzgerald Martin was a distinguished officer of the British Army who served as Surgeon to George VI, and to the Viceroy of India, Lord Mountbatten.

Birth and family

Martin was the son of Colonel W.T. Martin. Martin was educated at Bath College, Edinburgh University, and the University of London.
James Fitzgerald Martin married, at Exeter Cathedral in 1906, Mary Latimer Hawks Moody, who was the eldest of Colonel Richard Stanley Hawks Moody and the granddaughter of Major-General Richard Clement Moody, the founder of British Columbia. Martin and his wife had one daughter, Mary Charlotte.

Military service

Martin was commissioned into the British Army in 1899. He was promoted to Captain in 1902; to Major in 1911; Lieutenant-Colonel in 1917; to Colonel in 1927; to Major-General in 1931. He retired in 1935.
He served in the Second Boer War in South Africa from 1900 –1902, for which he received both the Queen's South Africa Medal, with four clasps, and the King's South Africa Medal, with two clasps. He served in World War One between 1914 and 1918, for which he was mentioned in despatches five times and received the CMG, the CBE, and the 1914 Star.

Post-Military Career

Martin was employed between 1940 - 1943 by the Ministry of Health of Health as Inspector of Hospitals and Assistant Hospital Officer of No. 3 and No. 6 Regions. He was employed by the Southern Region department of the Ministry of Pensions from 1944 to 1947.
He served as Honorary Surgeon to King George VI, and to the Viceroy of India, Lord Mountbatten. He was invested as a Knight of the Order of Saint John of Jerusalem. He was also invested as a Knight of the Order of the Crown of Belgium.