Major Clarence Edward Martin (2 February 1900 – 5 September 1953) was an Australian politician and a member of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly from 1930 until 1932 and from 1939 until his death in 1953. He was variously a member of the Australian Labor Party (NSW), the Industrial Labor Party and the Labor Party (ALP). He was the Attorney General of New South Wales from 1941 until 1953 and also held the position of Minister for Transport for six months prior to his death. Early life Martin was born in Ballarat, Victoria and was the son of a miner. He was educated at state schools in Broken Hill, New South Wales and was orphaned at an early age. He initially worked in the Broken Hill mines but continued his education privately. At age 17 he moved to Sydney, underwent teacher training and taught in state schools in rural NSW while continuing part-time studies in economics at the University of Sydney. During the period he was out of parliament he studied law at the university. Martin graduated and was called to the bar on the motion of Richard Windeyer in 1936, in 1952 he was appointed a Queen's Counsel. He was the founder of the NSW branch of the Fabian Society and a trustee of the State Library of New South Wales. He served in the Second Australian Imperial Force in New Guinea and the Middle East for 4 years and reached the rank of Major. State Parliament Martin entered the New South Wales Parliament at the 1930 state election as the labor member for Young. He defeated the sitting Country Party member Albert Reid and his victory helped Labor form a government under Premier Jack Lang. However, he was defeated in the 1932 landslide that ended Lang's premiership. During his time as the member for Young, Martin was active in forming and working with the Socialisation Units of the ALP. These Units promoted a transition to "socialism in our time" in the midst of the Depression crisis, which led him into conflict with Lang and his followers. By the mid-1930s, while still out of Parliament, he was a recognised leader of the left-wing forces inside the ALP. He was a supporter of rebel union-backed Labor Party, the Industrial Labor Party, and stood as their candidate at the by-election caused by the death of the United Australia Party member