Francis Martin enlisted alongside his brother Percival in July 1915. They were following in the footsteps of elder brother Gilbert, who had enlisted the previous year. A fourth brother, Edward served in the Royal Marines, but was be killed in the Battle of Jutland on the 31st of May 1916. Martin would share his brother’s fate, arriving in France with the 56th Battalion in June only to be killed a month later during the Attack at Fromelles, one of the worst 24 hours for Australian casualties during the war. He was buried at the ANZAC cemetery at Sailly-sur-la-Lys.
Martin’s name was added to the Toowoomba British Football Association honour board in 1918 alongside that of his brother Percival having both played for the Cities club before the war. Both Percival and Gilbert survived the war.