Blacksmith; Born October 2, 1925; Died February 14, 2009.
EDWARD Martin, who has died aged 83, was a renowned Dumfriesshire farrier and blacksmith. Within his craft, no-one was more respected, and the long list of awards at home and abroad bore testimony to his standing. His proudest moment was when he and his late wife, Marian, travelled to Buckingham Palace where he collected an MBE in 1991.
In 2000, he was presented with a gold medal and the title Supreme Master Blacksmith by the Worshipful Company of Blacksmiths in London. Only four such awards have been made by the company in its 700-year history. Nine years earlier, he had received the Freedom of the City of London and, with it, an annual invitation to the Lord Mayor's parade and banquet.
In 2004, his loyalty and service were recognised in a special certificate from the National Association of Farriers, Blacksmiths and Agricultural Engineers. His competition, judging and lecturing skills took him all over the world, including Germany, France, Holland, Japan, New Zealand, Nigeria, Canada and the US. In the 1990s, he organised the world horseshoeing championships in his home village, regularly attended by teams from the home nations plus several from Europe and North America.
As recently as 2004, Ann Veneman, Agriculture Secretary in former President George Bush's administration, wrote to him saying: "Congratulations on your outstanding career and the heartfelt appreciation of the American Farriers' Association for your extraordinary work and professional achievements.
"The dedication that you have demonstrated for your unique and important trade is commendable. I join your many friends and admirers in saluting your skill and your generous spirit.
"Thank you for your contribution to American agriculture."
Martin was the second in a family of 10 and left school at the age of 14, against the advice of the headmaster but determined to "be a blacksmith like my faither".
He learned his craft and trade from his grandfather and his father in an era when the blacksmith's shop was the focal point of Closeburn, Dumfriesshire, and the world was put to rights many times a day as farming folk brought their horses to be shod and their ploughs and machinery to be mended.
He had success as a competitor at the Royal Highland Show when it was peripatetic and later at its permanent home at Ingliston near Edinburgh. He also judged there and at many events at home and abroad.
On the death of his father, Martin became head of the family business of E Martin and Sons and, while carrying on the traditional side of the blacksmith business, spread the portfolio into Dutch-made agricultural pipe- laying drainage machinery as well as a motor engineering business.
During his career, he perfected wrought-ironwork of the most delicate nature but also made gigantic gates for stately homes in Dumfriesshire. But the largest he ever made, in the twilight of his working life, was for the Thistle Brewery in Alloa. The gates were five metres high with a 10-metre opening - the largest gates to be made in Britain for 100 years.
Back at home, he was a founder member, past-president, stalwart and, in 2004, made an honorary member of the Thornhill and District Rotary Club.
He was predeceased by his wife, Marian. They had no children.
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