Born on 28 May 1864 at Ballarat, Victoria, Australia, the fifth child and third son of Charles Martin, a schoolmaster, and Elizabeth Hitchcock, his wife. He was educated at Ballarat State School and School of Mines, and practised as a chemist before going to England to study medicine. He worked at the London Hospital, where he served as house surgeon, and at Durham University, qualifying in 1889. He practised till 1898 at Plymouth, taking the Durham doctorate in 1892 and the Fellowship in 1897, and then returned to Australia. After some years in his native town of Ballarat, he moved to Western Australia about 1905, where he set up in practice at Perth as an ophthalmologist. He was appointed to the honorary staff of the Royal Perth Hospital and on retirement in 1923 was elected consulting ophthalmic surgeon. Martin married in 1895 Annie Beatrice Woods. He died in Western Australia on 12 April 1947, aged 82, survived by his wife, their son Surgeon Lieutenant-Commander E B Martin, RN MRCS, and four daughters. Martin was an excellent operator. He served for twenty-five years as president of the Perth School for Deaf and Dumb Children.