Major Warren Frederick Martin Clemens CBE, AM, MC (17 April 1915 – 31 May 2009) was a British colonial administrator and soldier. In late 1941 and early 1942, while serving as a District Officer in the Solomon Islands, he helped prepare the area for eventual resistance to *anese occupation.

His additional duties as coas*cher alerted the Allies to *anese plans to build an airstrip on Guadalc*. This resulted in Allied carrier raids and eventually a landing by United States forces and the beginning of the epic struggle in the Solomons. Clemens then directly served the U.S. Marines in coordinating intelligence on *anese activities.

Contents

• 1 Early life
• 2 Early career
• 3 Second World War
• 4 Post-war
• 5 Personal life
• 6 See also
• 7 Footnotes
• 8 External links

Early life

Martin Clemens was born in Aberdeen, Scotland, son of Warren Clemens, a musician. He won scholarships to Bedford School and Christ's College, Cambridge, where he studied agriculture and natural sciences from 1933 to 1937.

Early career

In 1938, Clemens joined the Colonial Service and was sent out to the British Solomon Islands Protectorate (BSIP). He served for three years as a cadet in Malaita, and became a District Officer in 1941. With the coming of the Pacific War, he volunteered for military service in the British Solomon Islands Protectorate Defence Force and was commissioned a captain. After a short leave in Australia in late 1941, Martin Clemens returned to the Solomons on a ship sent to evacuate European and Chinese residents from Guadalc*.

Second World War

While responsible for nearly fifteen thousand citizens and various other people on Guadalc*, District Officer Clemens additionally served as a coas*cher. The *anese planned to cut off the United States' communications with New Zealand and Australia by building an airstrip on Guadalc*. When they began landing infantry, support troops and engineers to begin the airstrip, Clemens reported such to the Allies by radio.

Meanwhile, the managers of the coconut plantations had fled Guadalc* in panic, abandoning the native workers from neighboring islands, who were left to be repatriated by Clemens. He then established his radio station and coas*ching activities. Though he was a commissioned officer, Clemens received no support from the military and had no uniform. After the *anese occupied the island of Tulagi in early May, they initiated searches for Clemens, and the other Guadalc* coas*chers Donald S. Macfarlan, Kenneth D. Hay, Hugh A. Mackenzie, Leif Schroeder, and F. Ashton Rhoades.: 41  In June, the *anese started constructing an airfield on Guadalc*, further isolating Clemens and forcing him to conduct his activities from enclaves in the mountains. Clemens, on his jungle-shielded mountain, played a dangerous game of hide and seek with the *anese. He and his tiny coas*cher contingent were running low on everything they needed: food, supplies, and most critically, radio batteries. Barefoot, Clemens shared the privations of his coas*chers. His shoes had disintegrated.

Guadalc* became the site of the first major land offensive against the *anese in the South Pacific. Upon the American invasion of Guadalc*, Clemens and his scouts were ordered to join the Marines at Lunga on 13 August.: 196  Cooperation between Clemens and the U.S. Marines made him a key operative on the island. Major General Alexander Vandegrift gave Clemens "complete charge of all matters of native administration and of intelligence outside the perimeter".: 199–200  Clemens and his scouts provided the U.S. Marines much *istance with continuous raids on *anese supplies and radio reports of the enemy's position.

Post-war

His war service earned him the Military Cross (MC) on 15 December 1942, and in 1944 the U.S. Legion of Merit. The First Marine Division also awarded him the commemorative Faciat Georgius medal, which he helped design.: 311 

Following the war, Clemens served in Palestine in 1946–1947 and Cyprus in 1948–1949, returning to Cyprus in 1951–1957 as District Commissioner, and was Defence Secretary during 1959–1960. Offered a further colonial position variously reported as having been in Burma or Sarawak, he instead moved to Australia, which was home to his wife Anne. This later colonial career led to his appointment as Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 1956 Queen's Birthday Honours, and promotion to Commander in that order (CBE) in the 1960 New Year Honours.

Personal life

Martin Clemens married Anne Turnbull in 1948. They had four children. Clemens became an Australian citizen in 1961 and was involved in numerous public service and charity efforts. According to the official Australian Government online database of honours, he was appointed Member of the Order of Australia (AM) in 1993, but obituaries report this honour as the lesser Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM).

See also

• William John Read
• Jacob C. Vouza
• Arthur Reginald Evans

Footnotes

External links

• Martin Clemens's Biography
• Martin Clemens's Book on His Part in the War
• PM Sikua Pays Tribute to British WW 2 Coast Watcher
• kittybrewster.com