PATRICK ANTHONY PORTEOUS

“MAJOR PORTEOUS’S MOST GALLANT CONDUCT, HIS BRILLIANT LEADERSHIP AND TENACIOUS DEVOTION TO A DUTY WHICH WAS SUPPLEMENTARY TO THE ROLE ORIGINALLY ASSIGNED TO HIM, WAS AN INSPIRATION TO THE WHOLE DETACHMENT”
VC Citation

The German was quicker to raise his weapon as he took aim at Captain Patrick Anthony Porteous and fired. The bullet struck Porteous’ left hand, passing into his arm. But the young liaison officer, serving as a temporary major with No. 4 Commando, had little time to feel the pain or worry about the blood gushing from his wound. The enemy steadied his gun, ready for another shot. Surely this was it – the moment he died.

It was 19 August, 1942, and Porteous was in Dieppe, France, for Operation Jubilee. While the Canadians were about to be slaughtered on the beaches surrounding the coastal commune, his party of special forces was tasked with destroying the ‘Hess’