PARAS 2 Porter, Norman Hunter

Alan Turing: The Enigma Man
By Cawthorne Nigel
Drop Zone Normandy
By Sir Napier Crookenden

Craig Robertson

Administrator
Staff member
  • SURNAME
Porter
  • FORENAME
Norman Hunter
  • UNIT
Parachute Regiment
  • RANK
Corporal (acting Sergeant)
  • NUMBER
24180240
  • AWARD
British Empire Medal
  • PLACE
1985
  • ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
London Gazette 50361, 30th December 1985, Page 19
 

CITATION:

British Empire Medal : Corporal (Acting Sergeant) Porter was amongst those who were severely injured in the Warrenpoint disaster of 1979 when sixteen soldiers of Second Battalion The Parachute Regiment were killed by a single Irish Republican Army bomb. As a result of shrapnel wounds to the head, Corporal Porter has been partially paralysed down one side, and despite some minor improvements, has only limited mobility, thus rendering his unfit for active duty.

Accepting his disability with good humour and complete determination to overcome it, Corporal Porter has soldiered on in the Quartermaster's department where he has become the mainstay of the G1098 store, with responsibility for all weapons and technical equipment of the unit.

During the Battalion's recent tour in Northern Ireland from November 1984 to April 1985, Corporal Porter was the sole representative of the Quartermaster's department left in Aldershot with the Rear Party, due to the early posting of the Technical Quartermaster. This meant that Corporal Porter was responsible not only for his own store, but many other activities connected with the maintenance of the barracks and Rear Party. During this time he worked tirelessly to ensure the smooth running of the unit, doing a job which would normally have been the responsibility of a Captain and a Warrant Officer. The fact that no problems were left unresolved by the time of the Battalion's return is ample testimony to his hard work and devotion to duty.

Despite his disability Corporal Porter has single mindedly pursued his chosen career, and his loyalty has never faltered. In particular his dedication and hard work for the Rear Party during the Battalion's tour in Northern Ireland are deserving of special recognition.

Place : Aldershot
Date of Action : November 1984 - April 1985
How Employed : G1098 Storeman

WEB LINKS:

https://www.thegazette.co.uk/London/issue/50361/supplement/19
https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/D7635733

NATIONAL ARCHIVES:

https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/D7635733
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