Bidspirit auction | WW2 Colonel Pat Porteous VC

WW2 Colonel Pat Porteous VC Signed cover Operation Jubilee 18/19 August 1942 FDC. British Stamp with 19 Aug 92 Postmark. Surviving members of No.4 Commando will remember Pat as the fit young regular gunner officer who took over ”D” Troop when the Commando was reorganised after the Lofoten Islands raid in 1941. He soon made his mark as a quiet, modest, yet capable leader who was respected as ”The Skipper”. Although his Troop was not employed directly in the Dieppe Raid of August 1942, its members were deployed to bring up to strength those other troops selected for the operation, and Pat was selected by the CO., Lt. Col. The Lord Lovat, to act as Liaison Officer between the two Troops earmarked for the final bayonet assault on the German ”Hess” battery. In the event, this proved to be a sound and wise planning decision. Just prior to the final assault, Pat was shot at close range through the hand, the bullet then entering his upper arm. He closed with his assailant, disarmed him and killed him with his own bayonet, just as the German was taking aim at one of the Troop Sergeants, whose life was thus saved. During the final assault the two officers of 'F' Troop were killed and the Sergeant Major seriously wounded, but Pat Porteous, in the face of withering fire, dashed across open ground to rally and take command, leading the men in a successful charge on the enemy in the battery position. He was severely wounded for the second time, but continued in action until the last gun had been destroyed, when he eventually collapsed. He was invested with his Victoria Cross by King George VI in October 1942, after recovering from his wounds. Good condition Est.