Horace Martineau

He carried a wounded comrade back under fire

Horace Robert Martineau was born in Bayswater, London and educated at University College School. He enlisted in the 11th Hussars in 1891, serving in southern Africa and India before buying his discharge in 1895. Returning to South Africa, he served in the Matabele campaign of 1896 and then joined the Cape Police.

At the outbreak of the South African War, he entered the Protectorate Regiment and took part in the defence of Mafeking. On 26 December 1899, the regiment attacked the Boer position at Game Tree. When withdrawal became necessary, Corporal Le Camp lay wounded only a short distance from the enemy trenches. Sergeant Martineau stopped to recover him.

He half carried and half dragged Le Camp toward a bush about 150 yards away. Although wounded himself, he dressed his comrade’s injuries and helped him continue toward safety. Further shots struck Martineau until exhaustion forced him down. He suffered three wounds, and one arm had to be amputated near the shoulder. Lord Roberts presented his Victoria Cross at Cape Town in December 1900.

His disability did not end his working life or interest in service. He worked for the African Boating Company in Durban and returned to service during the Natal Rebellion in 1906. He was in New Zealand when the First World War began. When the First World War began he joined the New Zealand Expeditionary Force and embarked with the Otago Infantry Battalion in October 1914 and served as a lieutenant in transport duties, despite the loss of his arm. His overseas service included the Suez area and the Gallipoli theatre.

Illness ended this final period of service. He returned to New Zealand and was discharged before dying at Dunedin in April 1916. He was buried at Andersons Bay Cemetery and was also commemorated on his family’s grave at Brookwood in England. The Victoria Cross citation, published in the London Gazette on 6 July 1900, records that he “stopped and picked up Corporal Le Camp” after the order to withdraw.