Ian Martin will celebrate his 100th birthday on Saturday with a cold beer or two.
Ian, Ashburton’s latest centenarian, his daughter Tracy Herbert and her husband Barry, will celebrate the milestone in a low key way along with his fellow residents and staff at Princes Court.
Special messages have started arriving for Ian including a letter from the Minister of Veterans Affairs Chris Penk and a card from the Office of Veterans Affairs.
Ian was born in Invercargill.
As an eight-year-old, following an incident with an axe and friends playing around, he was left with the top half of one of his fingers missing and two others damaged.
For treatment he had to board the train at Kelso and head to Balclutha. He was fortunate they lived next the the railway station as his father Alex was station master.
Due to his father’s work the family moved around. They spent time in Oamaru, Wairewa South and Kelso.
Ian attended Southland Boys High School before working as a railway clerical cadet.
He then served with the Royal New Zealand Air Force as part of the 14th Squadron.
Herbert said her dad gained a first class pass as an electrical engineer.
Ian who trained at Wigram Air Force Base in Christchurch and was part of J Force in 1947.
J Force served in post World War Two Japan for two years as part of the British Commonwealth Occupation Force.
‘‘He had a long journey over to Japan by plane but came back via a troop ship,” Herbert said.
While in Japan, Ian visited places including Hiroshima the site of an atomic bomb in 1945. In later life, he had numerous cancers resulting in the partial loss of one ear.
Post service he had a short stint at the National Airways Corporation.
In the 1950’s he joined Shaw Savill in Lyttelton as an office clerk.
In what could be described as an office romance, Ian meet officer clerk Selma Leeder who he married and they had daughter Tracy.
Ian transferred to the Dunedin office and became manager in the mid 70s and remained there until he retired at age 59.
Ian said music had always played an important part in his life.
Due to the loss of his finger, a special piece was added to his saxophone but was not needed on his trumpet.
He played in various bands during his life and at locations around Southland.
For about five years he played his instruments with The Golden Tones, a four member band at the Wharf Hotel in Dunedin every Friday and Saturday night.
Ian and Selma moved to Christchurch in 1985.
Selma passed away in 1989.
Every Tuesday morning for 20 years, he headed to Weedons, where the air force once had a station, to work on exhibits for the Air Force Museum of New Zealand.
As a volunteer with the Air Force Museum from 1985 to 2006 he sorted through air craft parts and rebuilt the instrument panel for the Hudson Bomber which is on display.
In late 2000 Ian suffered a heart attack that required three stents. He was told he needed to walk.
Ian would drive to Westmorland and walk up the hill from Cashmere Rd and in later years he would drive half way up the hill and walk from there.
He only stopped driving eight years ago.
Six years ago Ian moved to Ashburton to be closer to his daughter and son-in-law.
