Martin was born on 17th November 1945 and went on to play for Bristol Rovers Junior sides in his teens, and in fact played for Bristol Rovers A against Yate YMCA in the only Bristol Premier Combination match ever to be held at Eastville Stadium, in January 1965. His teammates that day included Vic Barney and Wayne Jones whilst the Yate team contained Derek Holehouse, Terry Tansley and Dave Pearce. Rovers won 4-2 with Yate skipper Doug Bird unfortunately scoring two own goals whilst Phil Ramsay and Micky Burns netted for Yate.
Martin joined Yate Town in the mid-seventies and made Yate's record number of County League appearances, 314 in total, as well as helping the team beat the previously all-conquering Greenway- Almondsbury team in the last "proper" GFA Senior Amateur Cup Final at Eastville in 1978.
After a period as Yate's Reserve Team Manager, Martin became our Youth Team Manager in 1989 and he was superb at developing young players, teaching them the true values of the sport, and helping their development both on and off the field.
In November 1998, a critical time for us, he volunteered to become Club Manager, in succession to John Freegard, while continuing his role with the Youth team, despite knowing that our financial situation was grave. His first match in charge was at Newport I.O.W. and his final game was against Blakenall in May 2000. Because of poor finances, the club used 53 players in League matches that season, and were inevitably relegated. Despite these problems, Martin's teams, assisted by Danny Iddles, always tried to play good football, retain their discipline and enjoy their games; the fact that they won the "Fairplay" Award for both seasons Martin was in charge, showing they usually succeeded and is indicative of his values.
Martin was one of the nicest people you could wish to meet, a lovely man, loyal servant to Yate Town and a true friend to many. He will be missed by his family forever.
Tribute written by Terry Tansley.
A minute’s silence was held for Martin prior to kick off before the game against Bracknell Town on 22nd November.
