Background
Martin, Geoffrey Haward was born on September 27, 1928 in Colchester, Essex, England. Son of Ernest Leslie and Mary (Haward) Martin.
Martin, Geoffrey Haward was born on September 27, 1928 in Colchester, Essex, England. Son of Ernest Leslie and Mary (Haward) Martin.
Soon afterwards he published his Doctor of Philosophy on the medieval history of Ipswich. Having completed research at the University of Manchester during 1952, Martin joined University College, Leicester as a lecturer in economic history.
He was schooled at Colchester Royal Grammar School, where he published a history of the school in the school magazine, The Colcestrian, before reprinting it as a separate volume with additions and corrections, The History of Colchester Royal Grammar School (1539-1947), published by the Borough of Colchester. In 1947 he went to Merton College, Oxford, to read history, specialising in Richard II and John of Gaunt. Whilst at Leicester, he was a Reader in History, 1966-1973, a Public Orator, 1971-1974, and a Professor of History, 1973-1982.
He was also for a term (1975-1980) head of the university"s history department and Pro-Vice-Chancellor, 1979-1982.
He was a visiting professor at Carleton University, Ottawa, for the years 1958-1959 and 1967-1968. In 1971 he returned to Merton College, where he had studied for his Doctor of Philosophy, as a visiting research Fellow and in 1990 became a senior research Fellow.
In 1997 Martin and his former Oxford tutor Doctor Roger Highfield published the first official history of the college, A History of Merton. In May 1982 Martin was appointed Keeper of the Public Records at the Public Record Office (Public Relations Officer).
In 1985 he led the first official delegation of British archivists to China, and he often represented the Public Relations Officer overseas.
He also ensured that the 900th anniversary of Domesday Book in 1986 was celebrated with a major public exhibition, held at Chancery Lane in the former Rolls Chapel. lieutenant was a great success, linking sound scholarship with the use of the then new technology of ‘talking heads’. He remains the only career academic who has ever had charge of the national archives, and later felt obliged to criticise the appointment of another head of the archives who he considered to be unsuitable for the job.
Within the United Kingdom he was chairman of the council of the British Records Association from 1982 until 1991.
Later he became one of its vice-presidents, and a vice-president of the Royal Historical Society between 1984 and 1988. He was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire in 1986.
After his retirement Martin was appointed to a research chair at the University of Essex, where he taught on the Second World War. In 2002 he provided the introduction to the Penguin publication of the Domesday Book, the first wholly English language edition of Domesday.
Martin married Janet Hamer, another historian in 1953, and they had four children.
In 1969 they bought a house there and, when illness eventually reduced his activities during 2003, it was to where he retired. He was also president of the Cumberland and Westmorland Antiquarian and Archaeological Society, 1999-2002. He died on 20 December 2007, aged 79.
Foreign the International Council on Archives, he was a member of the executive committee between 1984 and 1988, and also played a leading role in the formation of the Association of Commonwealth Archivists in 1984, serving as its first chairman.
Married Janet Douglas Hamer, September 12, 1953. Children: Christopher Haward, Sophia Mary, Patrick Tyson, Matthew Nichols.