Robert Banks-Martin

Robert Banks-Martin (1869-1930) was an architect and local politician active in the East Ham area.

Born in North Walsham, Norfolk, as Robert Banks Martin he was the son of Robert and Mary Martin. His father was a grocer. His father was a grocer. Following his death in 1877 his widow took over the family business as a grocer and draper. By 1891 he was an architect's and builder's clerk, still living in his mother's house, which was now a guesthouse.

Having qualified as an architect he moved to the Plashet Grove area of East Ham and in 1895 he married Ethel Grace Howe. By 1901 he had adopted the double-barrelled surname Banks-Martin and all his children took this name.

He became a member of East Ham Corporation. Despite moving to Hornchurch, he remained a member of the council and served four consecutive terms as Mayor of East Ham during the First World War.