HMS Martin G44 was an M-class fleet destroyer ordered from Vickers Armstrong at Newcastle on 3rd September 1939. It was laid down on 23rd October 1939 and was launched on 12th December 1940. In March 1942 the Martin was adopted by the civil community of Bury, Lancashire, and on 4th April 1942 was completed and commissioned for service at a cost of £457,512.
HMS Martin was run by Commander Charles Richard Powys Thomson from 10th December 1941. During her brief time in the WW2 she took part in at least 6 convoys - PQ15, QP11, PQ16, PQ17, QP13, and PQ18.
In her final month the Martin was deployed as an escort for military convoy during the build-up phase of TORCH. She sailed from Scapa on the 30th October as part of the escort for Force "H", and after fuelling at Gibraltar on the 5th November re-joined Force "H" - the covering force to the landings at Algiers and Oran, on the 8th November. On the morning of 10th November 1942 Martin was hit by 3 torpedoes and sunk by the German submarine U-431 (Dommes) 85 miles north-east of Algiers in position 37.53N, 03.57E, claiming the lives of 161 men. There were only 63 survivors who were picked up by the HMS Quentin including 5 officers. Commander Charles R.P. Thomson was one of the casualties.
