Virtual
War Memorial
Australia

From Francois Berthout

Pte 6316 William Alexander Porter,
11th Australian Infantry Battalion, B Company,
3rd Brigade, 1st Australian Division
 
On the fields of the Somme, grow tirelessly and in silence, waves of poppies on which more than a hundred years ago, were sown the seeds of the hopes and dreams of young men who side by side, in the mud of the trenches and battlefields, fought united in the name of peace and freedom for which, with bravery beyond the barbed wire, under machine gun fire, under bullets and shells, alongside their comrades, marched with conviction towards their destinies with in their hearts the pride of having done their duty, of having done what was right so that the light prevailed over the darkness in which with honor and loyalty to their countries and their comrades they sacrificed their youth, so that this war in which they gave their all, put an end to all wars and until the end of the road, in the prime of their lives taken too early, they remained lying alongside their brothers in arms on the sacred grounds of a friendly country far from home but today, in peace, solemn and forever young, they stand alive and eternal in the eternal shroud of poppies, in the light of remembrance which spreads its rays over their immaculate graves over which I will watch over forever with respect and love so that their sacrifices are never forgotten, so that their faces and their names live forever.

Today, it is with the deepest respect and with infinite gratitude that I would like to honor the memory of one of these men, of one of my boys of the Somme who gave his today for our tomorrow.I would like to pay a very respectful tribute to Private number 6316 William Alexander Porter who fought in the 11th Australian Infantry Battalion, B Company, 3rd Brigade, 1st Australian Division, and who was killed in action 106 years ago, on February 25, 1917 at the age of 36 on the Somme front.

William Alexander Porter was born in 1880 in Christchurch, New Zealand, and was the son of William Allen and Mary Ann Porter (née Bishop). He was the grandson of a brave soldier who fought in the American army during the Crimean War and then in the Indian wars, this may have guided William to fight for his country during the great war. At the age of 9, he emigrated with his parents and his sister, Margaret, for Australia and settled in "Trelyon", Chester Road, Claremont, Western Australia. He was educated at Claremont State School and after graduation worked as a clerk and business manager. Shortly before the outbreak of the war, he married Hannah Mary Porter but never had the chance and the happiness of founding a family and driven by a deep desire to show his patriotism towards his adopted country, he responded in 1916 to the call of duty to do his bit alongside his comrades.

William enlisted on April 10, 1916 in Perth, Western Australia, in the 11th Australian Infantry Battalion, 20th Reinforcement, under the command of Lieutenant Colonel James Lyon-Johnston and after a five-month training period at Blackboy Hill Camp, near Perth, he embarked with his unit from Fremantle, Western Australia, on board HMAT A46 Clan MacGillivray on September 18, 1916 and sailed for England.

On November 2, 1916, William arrived in England and was disembarked at Plymouth then joined the 3rd Training Battalion for a period of military and physical exercises in realistic war conditions on Salisbury Plain and a month later, on December 17, ready to join the front and the war, he proceeded overseas from Folkestone, on board "SS Golden Eagle" for France.

On December 18, 1916, after a quick and short journey on the English Channel, William finally arrived in France and was disembarked at Etaples where he joined the 1st Australian Divisional Base Depot then joined the 11th Australian Infantry Battalion on January 17, 1917 in the Somme, in the small village of Bresle where despite heavy rains and a very cold winter, the coldest and hardest the region has ever known, they were billeted in huts in good condition but this did not prevent illnesses, such as pneumonia and bronchitis, to wreak havoc among the men.

In spite of difficult conditions, mud everywhere hardened by the cold, William and his comrades followed a period of training here followed by moments of relaxation, it is noted in the war diary of the battalion that "the men were able to take hot baths", rare moments of comfort in an abominable war, then on January 25, they marched for Fricourt and were billeted in a farm where they were mainly employed in working parties and physical exercises and on January 28, moved for a hutment camp at Bazentin-Le-Petit and in this sector worked to repair the roads constantly pounded by the German artillery then followed exercises including bayonet fights and anti-gas exercises.

On February 5, 1917, William fell seriously ill and was admitted to the 1st Australian Field Ambulance then to the 2nd Field Australian Dressing Rest Station suffering from bronchitis, was discharged to duty on February 14 then after a little over a week of rest, joined the 11th Battalion on February 23 at Bazentin-Le-Petit. The next day, William's company joined the front line near Bazentin and occupied a trench called "Yarra Reserve". Unfortunately, William's war was short and it was the next day,on February 25, 1917, after only one day in the trenches that he met his fate.
On February 25, 1917, while William, alongside 4 officers and 149 other ranks of B Company were part of working parties on the front line between Bazentin-Le-Petit and Flers, he entered a trench called "Turk Dump " and was killed with nine of his comrades by a shell, he was 36 years old.

Today, William Alexander Porter rests in peace alongside his friends, comrades and brothers in arms at the AIF Burial ground, Flers, Somme, and his grave bears the following inscription: "He lives with thee and there I find him worthier to be loved."

William Alexander Porter had a brother who also fought bravely in the Great War. He was Lance Corporal number 2765 Herbert Bishop Porter who served with the 51st Australian Infantry Battalion, 13th Brigade, 4th Australian Division. Unfortunately, Herbert was killed in action six months before his brother on August 16, 1916 at the age of 28 at Mouquet Farm, during the terrible and deadly battle of Pozieres. Sadly, Herbert's body was never found and his name is remembered and honored today with respect on the walls of the Australian National Memorial in Villers-Bretonneux, Somme, alongside the names of 11,000 Australian soldiers who fell in the Somme and northern France and who have no known graves.

William, Herbert, brothers united by heart and by blood, united in the same sense of courage and loyalty, it is in the finest spirit of brotherhood that together you answered the call of duty in the name of your adopted country, to wear with honor and pride the colors of Australia alongside your comrades and friends who, in the prime of their lives, determined to do everything to make this war the last, marched with conviction to join their brothers and fathers on the battlefields of northern France and who, under the shells, under the bullets, with resolution and bravery, stood tall to preserve our humanity under the dismal symphony of death whose murderous artillery was the fatal composer. In a mud red with blood, these men left behind their innocence, they sacrificed their youth for the hell of the trenches and lived, fought with the dead bodies of their friends at their feet which lay silently under the howls of shrapnel splitting the air of their burning metal and which, in terrible bites of steel, crushed and mutilated the flesh and the spirits of young men who were forever haunted by what they endured and lived in this unimaginable apocalypse and who, in the darkest hours of history, lived days and nights struck down by an endless terror which, even after the war, remained in them like deep scars which they had to carry silently until the end of their lives which, for those who were lucky enough to return home, had to continue to live with in their hearts, like shell holes, walked with the absence of their friends whom they left behind in the mud of the Somme, under the countless rows of white tombs which remind us every day what was the price of the peace and freedom in which we live and which, through the barbed wire, were paid for by the supreme sacrifices of thousands of young men who on these sacred fields, shed their blood and gave their today in a world gone mad which sank into the fury and darkness of a war that mowed down thousands of men, husbands, brothers and fathers who left behind homes empty of happiness and smiles. For these heroes far from home, it is with their hearts and with devotion that they followed their comrades, guided by the love of their loved ones and by the ANZAC spirit they found the strength to climb the wooden ladders and the courage to face their destiny, to face the dangers and the death that awaited them, they did it for their brothers who watched day and night over each other until the decisive moment and knew that no matter what what would happen on no man's land, they would not be alone and this solidarity, this unity in the face of adversity, this spirit of camaraderie and fighting spirit, nothing ever broke it, nothing ever bent the courage of the Diggers who, from Pozieres to Flers, from Villers-Bretonneux to Amiens, always fought with the most exeptional bravery at the cost of terrible losses and even today, thousands of them are still there, always watching over each other behind their graves immaculate and stand young forever resting in peace among the poppies that remind us of what we owe them.More than names on the eternal stone of remembrance, they were young boys, men, brothers, uncles, loving husbands whose stories deserve to be told and became in the Somme, our sons over whom I will always watch over with respect and who will be forever, through my eyes and in my heart, my boys of the Somme. Their memory, and the ANZAC spirit, the friendship that unites Australia and France, on these sacred grounds, like the most ardent of flames, will live forever. Thank you so much William, Herbert, for all you have done for us, for my country but also for Australia which will forever be in my heart, my adopted country. At the going down of the sun and in the morning,we will remember them.