Martin J. Young
History
Martin Young served in the 29th Battalion During World War One. He was 33 years old when he enlisted in 1916.[1]
Martin Young famously wrote a note to a sweetheart back home, placed it in a bottle and threw it into the Indian Ocean in 1916. In 1967 the bottle washed ashore more than 300 kilometres south of Perth and the note was returned to its intended recipient Kate Rollason (nee Harris). The bottle and its contents are now on display at the Australian War Museum in Canberra.[2]
After the war Martin J. Young married an English nurse Elsie Hinton. Kate Harris, meanwhile, became engaged to a soldier who later died in France and then married a baker, Arthur Rollason, and moved to Euroa.[3]
Legacy
World War One service recognised on the Ballarat Avenue of Honour. The tree was removed due to poor health, and two year old English oak was replanted in March 2014 by daughter-in-law Alice Young and grandson Greg Young. The new tree sits alongside that which honours Martin's brother Leslie John ("Jack") Young, within sight of the Burrumbeet racecourse.[4]
See also
Notes
References
Further Reading
External links
http://www.thecourier.com.au/story/2976279/tree-planting-in-honour-of-wwi-romantic/?cs=62
--Beth Kicinski 07:58, 25 August 2013 (EST); --Clare K.Gervasoni 22:04, 29 March 2015 (AEDT)