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Cenotaph record

Eric Ainslie Porritt

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Portrait - This image may be subject to copyright

Portrait - This image may be subject to copyright

Identity

About

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  • Title
  • Forenames
    Eric Ainslie AWMM
  • Surname
    Porritt AWMM
  • Ingoa
  • Also known as
  • Service number
    • WWI 24297 AWMM
    • WWII 47885 AWMM
  • Gender
    Male AWMM
  • Iwi / Hapū / Waka / Rohe
  • Religion
    Presbyterian, Christian AWMM

Civilian life

About birth

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  • Birth
    27 October 1895 AWMM Paeroa, Hauraki District AWMM
    Paeroa, New Zealand AWMM
  • Date of birth
  • Place of birth
  • Birth notes
  • Address before enlistment
    • Pre 8 September 1916 AWMM Unknown AWMM
    • c/o Mrs R Telford, Totara Road, Trentham, New Zealand AWMM
  • Post war occupation
  • Next of kin on embarkation
    • Colonel E.W. Porritt (father), Paeroa, New Zealand AWMM
    • Mrs K Marsden (cousin), c/o Mrs R Telford, Totara Road, Trentham, New Zealand AWMM
  • Relationship status

Service

Wars and conflicts

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Military decorations

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  • Medals and Awards
    • Efficiency Decoration (ED) AWMM
    • Victory Medal AWMM
    • British War Medal (1914-1920) AWMM
    • War Medal 1939-1945 AWMM
    • New Zealand War Service Medal AWMM
    • Military Cross (MC) AWMM
      London Gazette 26 November 1917, p12323 Citation, London Gazette 6 April 1918, p4241 A Gallant Solider....In the Thick of Battle. Official advice has now been received of the grant of the Military Cross to Lieutenant E A Porritt for gallantry in the field on October 4 last at Gravenstafel. He was then acting as adjutant of the 2nd Auckland Battalion. Early in the attack on that date, the 2nd in command of the Battalion was killed, two of the company commanders were killed and the other two wounded. The commanding officer had his ankle shattered by an 18 pounder shell and handed over the command of the Battalion to Lieutenant Porritt, who commanded it for the rest of the day. The ground over which the troops had to advance was very wet and pitted with concreted dug outs filled with German machine gunners. The going was difficult but the men behaved splendidly and under the command of Lieutenant Porritt, the Battalion reached its objectives and with only one junior officer left to each company hung on to its position and successfully repelled three counter attacks. Only five officers of the battalion were unwounded but the non-commissioned officers stepped into the duties of the officers who went down and thus pulled the battalion through. A number of the nco's earning the award of the Military Medal and a few gaining the coveted Distinguished Conduct Medal. This officer is only 21 years of age. (Undated, unnamed newspaper report AWMM

Training and Enlistment

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Embarkations

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Prisoner of war

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  • Capture details
  • Days interned
  • Liberation date
  • Liberation Repatriation
  • POW liberation details
  • POW serial number

Medical history

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  • Medical notes

Last known rank

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Biographical information

Biographical information

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  • 1916: 2nd Lieutenant 2nd Auckland Battalion NZEF

    1917: Lieutenant 2nd Auckland Battalion

    1917 Appointed Lewis Gun Office

    11.1.1918 Adjutant : 3rd Battalion (Reserve) Auckland Regt (Recommended by Major General Russell)

    Returned NZ 12.1.1920 Auckland Provincial Detachment "A" Group NZEF

    Major from 1926-1940

    2.8.1940: Captain 8th Brigade Group Trentham No 3 Depot Battalion

    15.3.1942: Posted to Fiji, 30th Battalion "B" Force RNZEF, returned due to illness

    21.9.1942: Seconded to RNZAF Whenuapai as Aerodrome Defence Unit Commander

    26.10.1943: Service ended Highest Rank: Major

    The Nominal Roll lists Porritt as embarking with the Canterbury Infantry Battalion. Family says he was not. Armoury is checking the unit detail (2008)

    Attended Auckland University College (now the University of Auckland). AWMM
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Death

About death

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  • Death
  • Date of death
  • Age at death
  • Place of death
  • Cause of death
  • Death notes
  • Cemetery
  • Cemetery name
  • Grave reference
  • Obituary
  • Memorial name
  • Memorial reference

Memorials

Memorial

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  • Memorial name

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Sources

Sources

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