SPRATTON LOCAL HISTORY SOCIETY

Joseph was born in Spratton in 1881, the son of Joseph Martin, a farm labourer, timber carter and later a milkman, and his wife, Elizabeth (née Bromwich).  The Martins were a long established family in Spratton who had lived in Manor Road and then Station Road (now Brixworth Road). Five brothers in Joseph and Elizabeth’s family served in the First World War – Harry, Joseph, George, William and Walter.

In 1908 Joseph married Elizabeth Ann Hern of Spratton and in 1911 they had moved to  Cottesbrooke where he was a groom at Cottesbrooke Hall.

Joseph volunteered for the Northamptonshire Regiment and was posted to France on 29 April 1915 aged 34.  He was seriously wounded in 1916 and was discharged from the army on 28 September 1916 with the Silver War Badge to wear at home to show he had been wounded in the war. He was awarded the British War Medal, the Victory Medal and the 1915 Star.