Private Lawrence Frederick Martin

“Lol” Martin, joined the TA reserve  and signed up in January 1942 aged 18 and 3 months. Although he was in a reserved occupation job, he wanted to join up and managed to persuade them to take him. Lol served in West York’s regiment and was seconded to Royal Corps of Signals, 1 Airborne Division

He fought in Operation Market Garden dropping on the second lift on 18 September 1944. Dropped at Ginkel Heath, their mission was to get to John Frost at Arnhem They followed a railway track and at Wolzheze met a Panzer Division.

They retreated to Oosterbeek and were dug in at the Hartenstein Hotel, eventually escaping across the river at the back of the hotel. He was taken to Nijmegan and then to Belgium before flying back to England.

After this he served in India, Singapore, Java and Palestine. Lol was in Singapore when the Japanese surrendered in 1945.  Eventually he returned home and disembarked in Southampton in November 1947.

Sadly Lol passed away on 29 March 2020, aged 96, from covid19. "The Germans and Japs" didn’t get him, but the virus did.