Horace Martineau

Horace Robert Martineau VC (31 October 1874 – 7 April 1916) was a British recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces. Military career Born and educated in London, Martineau enlisted in the 11th Hussars in 1891. He served in Natal and in India before buying his discharge and returning to South Africa in 1895. The next year he served in Colonel Sir Robert Baden-Powell's campaign against the Matebele, after which he joined the Cape Police. Second Boer War On the outbreak of the Second Boer War in 1899, Martineau joined the Protectorate Regiment (N.W. Cape Colony) as a sergeant. He was awarded the VC in an action near Mafeking. His citation in the London Gazette reads: World War I After the War Martineau took up employment with the African Boating Company in Durban, specialising in support to military forces. He joined the Durban Militia Reserve in 1903 attaining the rank of Captain before visiting New Zealand in 1914 when the First World War broke out. He immediately joined up as a territorial officer in the 14th (South Otago) Regiment, and enlisted as Lieutenant Martineau VC Battalion Transport Officer in the Otago Infantry Battalion, of the New Zealand Expeditionary Force. He subsequently served in Suez and at Gallipoli with the New Zealand Infantry Brigade, New Zealand and Australian Division of the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps ANZAC.