The Men

The Men

Sunday 19 January 2014

* Captain George Francis Lambert Porter

'He was recommended for the V.C. [London Gazette, 20 Dec. 1917], for conspicuous bravery in the presence of the enemy.'
George Francis Lambert Porter was captain with the West Yorkshire Regiment (Prince of Wales's Own) "A" Company. 11th Battalion. Aged 33 from Dublin, George was killed in action, 8th June 1917 in Belgium, on the Western Front during the Battle at Messines Ridge.  His brother Cyril Robert had already died in the Balkans, in 1915, leaving three sisters remaining at home with their parents.  In the 1911 Census, George's mother notes that she had given birth to nine children, but had lost two.  By the end of the war, both of her remaining sons were also dead.
(Michelle Burrowes)

UK. De Ruvigny’s Roll of Honour, 1914-1919
George Francis Lambert Porter:Capt., 11th (Service) Battn. The Prince of Wales’s Own (West Yorkshire Regt.), eldest s. of George Francis Lambert Porter of 10, Vernon Parade, Clontarf, Assistant Audit Clerk with Messers. Guinness & Son, Dublin, by his wife, Alice, daughter of William McMeekin, of Lismore: and great grandson of the late Rev. Robert Porter, of Wicklow; born Rathmines, Co Dublin, 14th Sept 1883; educ. Presbyterian National School, Clontarf, and Harcourt Street High School, Dublin: was a Clerk on the staff of the Sun Fire Insurance Company: joined the South Irish Horse in 1903, of which he was a member for five years: gazetted 2nd Liet. The West Yorkshire Regt. 20 July, 1915: served with the Expeditionary Force in France and Flanders from Oct. 1916, and was killed in action at Messines Ridge 8 June, 1917.  Buried in Transport Farm Cemetery, near Zillebeke.  The Brigadier-General wrote: 
 “ Since he joined your husband has done splendid work, but never more so than before his death, when leading his men to a great victory.  His cheerfulness, untiring energy, his devotion and personal courage were the admiration of all, and it was more than an ordinary loss to us when he laid down his life after such an example.”Lieut –Col Barker also wrote:  “ Anything undertaken by him was done well and whole-heartedly.  His gallantry during the last attack was beyond all praise, and the admiration of all who saw him… I have seen no more gallant officer, now one in whom I had more perfect confidence.  He is one who cannot be replaced.”He was recommended for the V.C. [London Gazette, 20 Dec. 1917], for conspicuous bravery in the presence of the enemy.  He was a keen sportsman, being a member of the Neptune Cleft Club, Clontarf, also of the football and rowing clubs, and was interested in music, holding many medals for excellence in that art.  He married at the Church of the Ascension, Balham, London, S.W., Marion (10, Hazelbourne Road. London, S.W.), daughter of the late Capt. MacLeod, and had a son, George Francis Lambert, born 1 Jan 1914. ' 
Source: Ancestry.com. Transcribed by Michelle Burrowes. 20/09/14


The son of George F. and Alice Porter, of Clontarf, Dublin; Husband of Marion Porter, of Belgrave Hall, Queen's Park, Monkstown, County Dublin.  In 1923, his wife, Marion, wrote to the War Office, seeking her husband's medals.

The Weekly Irish Times. Ireland’s Roll of Honour. July 7, 1917. Confirmation has been received of the death in action of Acting Captain G F Lambert Porter, West Yorkshire regiment, who, after a gallant and successful fight, on June 7th, was killed by a shell on the 8th, whilst leading against a fierce German counter attack. His Colonel, in a letter to his widow, refers to his gallantry and coolness beyond all praise, and emphaises the high esteem and confidence in which he was held. 

For a number of years previous to his taking up his commission in the West Yorkshire regiment, in July, 1915, Mr Porter had been on the staff of the Sun Fire Office, and was organist of Howth Presbyterian Church. His early military training was obtained in the South Irish Horse in pre-war times, of which corps he ws as a member for five years. He was closely identified with music (being a Feis Ceoil prize-winner) and sport, and was a member of the Clef Club and the Clontarf Football and Neptune Rowing Clubs. He was also a member of the Masonic Order. 

Mr Porter was only 33, and leaves a young widow and son. His youngest brother, Private Cyril Porter, Royal Dublin Fusiliers, was killed in Serbia on December 8th, 1915. He was the eldest son of Mr and Mrs G F Porter, 10 Vernon Parade, Clontarf, Dublin. VII. N. 5. Railway Dugouts Burial Ground in Belgium.
(Source: Historian Tom Burke.)





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