CrossgarSir James MartinSir James Martin was born along the Glasswater Rd, Crossgar, Co. Down on 11th September 1893. Sir James had a great desire from an early age to invent and make things. He wasbrought up by his mother, after his father died while Sir James was young. She took him to see a professor in Belfast University wanting him to have a university education. Sir James had no wish to go to study and sit in lectures knowing that he could put his hand to anything, so at 21 with ten pounds in his pocket left Ulster for London in pursuit of his ambitious life. After several inventions, from the 3-wheeled car to oil engines and a 2-seater monoplane, Captain Baker joined Sir James in 1934 and established the Martin-Baker aircraft Company. Captain Baker died in 1942 whilst testing one of the Martin-Baker aircraft. In 1944 there was a need for a safer escape system after the death of an RAE test pilot who encountered an emergency during a test flight. The first Allied Live demonstration of the Martin-Baker ejector seat was in July 1946. Sir James continued to develop the ejection seat for use at higher speeds, greater altitudes, vertical take off, multiple crew escape and underwater ejection. Sir James died on 5th January 1981 at the age of 86. A memorial was established to remember Sir James Martin’s talents and revolution of fighter pilots safety in the square in Crossgar.
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