He served as Quartermaster-General[4] from 1 December 1953 to 31 October 1959, Air Chief of Staff (1 May 1965 to 30 June 1966)[5] as Chief of the Air Force from 1 July 1966 to 30 November 1967, and as Chief of Defence Staff from 1 December 1967 to 31 December 1968.
As a member of the Air Force, Martin played his club rugby for Garrison RFC and he also played provincial rugby for Transvaal.[6] In 1937 he toured with the Springboks to Australia and New Zealand. He played his first and only test match against Australia on 17 July 1937. He also played 15 tour matches.[7]