PORRITT, Leonard Haig
| Service Numbers: | V23170, 419481 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 19 June 1941 |
| Last Rank: | Flight Sergeant |
| Last Unit: | No. 467 Squadron (RAAF) |
| Born: | Beechworth, Victoria, Australia, 30 November 1920 |
| Home Town: | Beechworth, Indigo, Victoria |
| Schooling: | Beechworth Higher Elementary School, Victoria, Australia |
| Occupation: | Bank Clerk |
| Died: | Flying Battle, North West Europe, 8 July 1944, aged 23 years |
| Cemetery: |
Courgent Communal Cemetery, France Grave 7, |
| Memorials: | Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour, Beechworth Presbyterian Church WW2 Roll of Honour, Beechworth Shire WW1 Honour Roll, Beechworth War Memorial, International Bomber Command Centre Memorial, United Shire of Beechworth Roll of Honour WW2 |
World War 2 Service
| 19 Jun 1941: | Enlisted Australian Military Forces (Army WW2), Private, V23170, 8th Light Horse Regiment | |
|---|---|---|
| 19 Jun 1941: | Enlisted Trooper, V23170, 8th Light Horse Regiment | |
| 14 Aug 1942: | Enlisted Royal Australian Air Force, Aircraftman, 419481, Aircrew Training Units, Melbourne | |
| 14 Aug 1942: | Enlisted Royal Australian Air Force, Flight Sergeant, 419481 | |
| 25 May 1943: | Embarked Royal Australian Air Force, Sergeant, 419481 | |
| 29 Oct 1943: | Promoted Royal Australian Air Force, Flight Sergeant | |
| 8 Jul 1944: | Involvement Flight Sergeant, 419481, No. 467 Squadron (RAAF), Air War NW Europe 1939-45 |
Help us honour Leonard Haig Porritt's service by contributing information, stories, and images so that they can be preserved for future generations.
Add my storyBiography contributed by Elizabeth Allen
Leonard Haig PORRITT was born on 30th November, 1920 in Beechworth, Victoria
His parents were Thomas Frederick Rowden PORRITT and Maud Isabel DOWLING who married in Beechworth in 1912
Leonard married Mavis Evon KEOGH in 1943 in Victoria
He had served for 4 months previously with the 8th Light Horse Regiment before he enlisted as Air Crew V with the Royal Australian Air Force - he embarked from Sydney on 25th May, 1943 as a Sergeant
His last unit was 467 Squadron - Flight Sergeant
He was promoted to LAC Aircrew II on 30th March, 1943 and became a Wireless Operator on 11th March, 1944
Leonard died on 8th July, 1944 at Courgent in France in a Lancaster bomber LM338 as the Wireless Operator after being shot down during an air operation - he is buried in Courgent Communal Cemetery in France
Inscription on his headstone reads:
'LOVED AND REMEMBERED, LONGED FOR ALWAYS"
His name is memorialised on the Australian War Memorial & the Roll of Honour in Beechworth - his name is also on a memorial in France honouring all the airmen who died with him (see links for details & photo of the Memorial )
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His brother Thomas Andrew PORRITT also served in WW2 in the Air Force (SN56005) and was discharged in 1946
Click images to start slideshow.