Martin, Henry John, Commander, 1841-1876.

The collection covers Martin's service career, 1854 to 1870. It consists of logs, 1854 to 1866; private letters to his family, which include references to the Crimean War, 1855 to 1861; and details of ship administration 1860 to 1870. There are also some official papers relating to his grandfather Admiral of the Fleet Sir George Martin (1764-1847), in the period between 1811 and 1848.

Administrative / biographical background
Martin was born at Lytham in Lancashire in 1841 and joined the Royal Navy as a cadet in 1854. He served on the wooden steam frigate HMS CURACOA (1854) in the Mediterranean until 1857 and was then on the survey vessel HMS SPITFIRE (1845) on the west coast of Africa until 1861. He was then promoted to lieutenant and served on the steam gun vessel HMS SURPRISE (1856) in the Mediterranean until 1866. He was promoted to the rank of commander In 1869. Martin died while serving in the Coast Guard in 1876. His service record can be found under the reference ADM 196/14/480 at The National Archives.