Mathias Martin was born in Ramsbury, Wiltshire and christened on 25 September 1814.
- He was the son of James Martin, a labourer and Elizabeth Collis, who were married in 1810 at Ramsbury.
He enlisted into the Army in 1844 and on the 2 August 1850 he married Lucy Martin in St Mary`s Church, Paddington. They were both of Kellings Place. Lucy was a widow; she had previously married Henry Martin in 1838 in Hungerford. (It`s not known if Henry was related to Mathias).
Lucy had been born in Chieveley, Berkshire and was christened on 25 July 1815, her father was Charles Brazier a farmer, her mother was also named Lucy.
In 1851 Mathias and Lucy are living in Hanover Square, Mayfair, London, Matthias is a servant, but as he is the head of the household, there are no clues to who his employer was.
The Military Medal Awards Rolls show that Mathias served in the Crimea War between 1854 and 1855, with the 3rd Battery Grenadier Guards. His Regimental Number was 4736.
He was awarded the Crimea medal with the Alma clasp dated 20 September and the Inkerman clasp dated 5 November. His name is at the bottom of the Index page. Conditions were very bad when Mathias was there and he must have been so relieved to be able to come home to Lucy.
When he returned they remained in London and in 1861 they are in 23 Palace Street, Westminster. Mathias is a soldier ‘grenadier guard’ this street is next to Buckingham Palace and it`s possible that Mathias would have been a sentry there.
He was discharged in 1866, his rank then was Private Mathias Martin, and received a pension from the Royal Hospital Chelsea.
By 1871 the couple are in Wales, they are on the Plas Power Estate which was in the hands of Thomas Lloyd Fitz-Hugh. Mathias is a pensioner and the lodge keeper in the Plas Power Lodge. It must have been quite a change from the busy streets of London.
Mathias died there on 2 December 1879 his death was announced in the Wrexham Advertiser as being of Plas Power Lodge, Bersham. Lucy continued to live there as the Lodge gate keeper until her death on 2 January 1898, she was buried with Mathias in Wrexham Cemetery.
Researched by Annette Edwards. October 2018. Gravestone photographs by Graham Lloyd.
Grave ref: Wrexham Cemetery E-01098.
