Noel Martin (British Army officer)

Brigadier George Noel Chadwick Martin CBE DSO MC (23 December 1892^[1] – 24 August 1985^[2]) was a British Army officer and international golfer from Northern Ireland.

Martin was born in 1892 in Portrush.^[3] His father, John Charles Martin, was a doctor born in British India and trained at Trinity College, Dublin.^[4]

Martin attended the Royal Military Academy, Sandhurst, and from there was commissioned into the Royal Field Artillery in 1912. On the outbreak of the First World War, he accompanied the British Expeditionary Force to France, and served on the Western Front from 1914 to 1918. He was awarded the Military Cross for bravery in commanding a battery under fire, and the Distinguished Service Order for having brought a field gun into action ahead of his supporting infantry.^[5] By the end of the war, he held the rank of Captain (acting Major) and commanded B Battery, 74th Brigade RFA, which was serving with the Guards Division.^[6]

After the war, Martin remained in the army, and became a prominent golfer. As a member of the Royal Portrush Golf Club, he won the Irish Amateur Open Championship in 1920 and 1923, and the Army golf championship in 1928.^[3] The same year, he stood in for Cyril Tolley to play in the Walker Cup as part of the British and Irish team, where he was partnered with another Portrush golfer, Major Charles O. Hezlet. The British and Irish team had their worst showing ever that year, losing eleven matches to one.^[7] Hezlet had been the first Irishman on a Walker Cup team, in 1924, and Martin was the second.^[8] Martin also played several international matches for Ireland, captaining the team in 1930.^[3] He later became chairman of the Royal Portrush, and headed the club at the time it hosted the 1951 Open Championship, to date the only time the championship has been held outside Great Britain. He presented the winner's trophy to Max Faulkner.^[7]

During the Second World War, Martin was appointed as Commander Royal Artillery in 50th (Northumbrian) Infantry Division, and in March 1942 was promoted to Brigadier-General Royal Artillery of Eighth Army, responsible for all of the army's artillery units.^[9] He pushed heavily for centralised control of artillery, reversing an earlier policy of dispersing the guns to support small forces. This approach bore fruit at the First Battle of El Alamein in July 1942, where concentrated artillery helped stall a German advance into Egypt. However, in August, Martin was sacked and sent home; the new army commander, Bernard Montgomery, blamed him for the previous policy of dispersion and wished to replace him with a new officer. His successor was Sidney Kirkman, later to command a corps in Italy.^[10]

Martin retired from the Army in 1945. He was made a Commander of the Order of the British Empire for his services in the Middle East, and mentioned in despatches.^[11]

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