Frederick David Porter
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- Military History
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Frederick David was born in 3/4 1899 in Royal Hill, Greenwich, London and was the youngest son of butcher Thomas Minnitt Porter and his wife Elizabeth Porter at 10 Bar Gate, Newark. Thomas had been born in Newark in 1866 and his wife Elizabeth (Lizzie) nee Berry born 1865 in Malpas. Cheshire, had two further sons , Thomas William Minnett born 1893 in Greenwich and Francis Herbert Victor born 1898 Greenwich. It would appear that Thomas had moved down to London because we find in the 1891 census him living at 48 London Street, Greenwich, he is shown as 25 years of age and a butcher, he is living at this address with 4 other men all of whom are butchers. That same year on 3rd August 1891 we find Thomas marrying at St Leonards Parish Church, Streatham, London , he is shown as a butcher 25 years of age and his wife Elizabeth Berry , 29 years a spinster , both give their address as Natal Road, Streatham. By the 1901 census the family are still in London , they are living at 31 Royal Hill, Greenwich, Thomas is shown as being 35 years a butcher, he is living with his wife Lizzie 39 years and their three sons , Thomas, Frances and Frederick. Prior to the next census in 1911 the family moved back to Thomas's home town of Newark where he becomes the local buther living at 4 Castle Gate, he is living at the address with his wife Lizzie, his eldest son Thomas William now 20 years of age, is now working in the butchery business, while his two younger sons Francis and Frederick are still scholars. At this time Thomas is employing two persons George Tinker 22 years also a butcher and Frances Glanville a maid. .
Frederick enlisted in Newark in September 1917. He served in a Sherwood Foresters training battalion before joining 51st Battalion, Durham Light Infantry on 4th January 1918. He embarked at Folkestone for Boulogne on 31st March 1918 and was posted to 15th battalion, Durham Light Infantry on 3rd April 1918. He was killed in action on 27th May 1918, he has no known grave and is commemorated on the Soissons Memorial, Aisne, France.
The following is an extract from the Magnus School, Newark , diary of the 'Great War' :- Sunday 30 June 1918: Fred Porter, 18, youngest (and brightest) son of butcher Thomas Minnitt Porter and his wife Elizabeth at 10 Bargate, was missing. While he was at the Magnus, he had shown considerable prowess in educational affairs and secured a large number of prizes for languages, scripture and other subjects. He then entered the offices of Quibell’s until he reached military age and voluntarily joined-up in October 1917. He went to France as recently as April and saw a great deal of heavy fighting with the Durham Light Infantry before being posted missing on 27 May with the greatest German onslaught of the entire War in full swing. Now his parents appealed for any news. When it came, it was of the worst: he was presumed killed on 27 May and remembered on the Soissons Memorial. His eldest sibling, Thomas William Minnitt, 25, was permanently disabled after seeing much service as a Trooper with the Sherwood Rangers (and lived to the age of 56). His second brother, Francis Herbert Victor, 20, survived the War as a mechanic with the RAF (and lived to the age of 64 in Newark). His two brothers both also served during the Great War , both surviving , Thomas William Minnett served with the Sherwood Rangers Yeomanry from 20th January 1911 until his discharge , time served on 14th February 1916. Francis Herbert Victor served with the Royal Air Force as a mechanic.
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