Samuel Porter was born on 5th March 1889 and is on the school memorial as he taught mathematics at Ilford County High School between 23rd November and 21st December 1911. He worked as a temporary master on a salary of £150 per annum.
Mr Porter had been educated at East London Technical College (1902-3) and the County High School for Boys, Leytonstone (1903-7). He was awarded a Draper’s Company’s Scholarship to King’s College, London and gained a B.Sc. (London) degree with honours in Physics and Mathematics in 1911 before becoming an Associate of King’s College. At King’s, he became the captain of their first football team and chairman of combined Common Rooms. In order to pursue a career in teaching, he obtained a Board of Education Teacher’s Certificate.
After his brief spell at Ilford County High School, Mr Porter went on to teach at Herbert Strutt H. E. School in Belper, Derbyshire. He started at Belper as an assistant science and mathematical master in January 1912. According to a report in the Belper News on 27th August 1915, shortly after his death, he, ‘proved himself to be a man of sterling character, and whose professional services were bound to be acceptable.’ Furthermore, he was described as a ‘painstaking teacher, loyal colleague and someone with a healthy outlook on life that made it a pleasure to know him.’
Samuel enlisted for the army in September 1914, hoping to obtain a position as an officer. He joined the Leeds Officer’s Training Corps early in October 1914, before securing a commission in the Lancashire and Yorkshire Regiment (December 1914). In May 1915, he was sent to the Dardenelles with the 1/9th Manchester Regiment, which only had eight officers left out of 31. This was where Lieutenant Porter was to die of his wounds.
On 7th August 1915 he, with another officer, was detailed to lead a charge. Before leaving the trench he rallied his men with the words “Come along, men, you’re not afraid to die,” and was first out of the trench. He fell back dead on the firing step with a wound in his head. This occurred about 10.30 a.m. He was buried the next morning in the regimental cemetery on the banks of Krithia Nullah.
One of his fellow officers described his death in a letter, later published in a Northern newspaper and the school magazine. He wrote,
‘I and Lieut. Porter were sent, and we got into the thick of it immediately. A redoubt was captured at the point of the bayonet. Porter was on my right. Poor fellow, he was killed in getting over the parapet. I was on the left. The advance, however, could not be sustained, and the order to retire was given. The enemy’s fire was too hot. How many got back safely I don’t know. We lost very heavily. I must have had a charmed life as I went. My tunic was ripped by bullets and my water bottle shot off, and I had a bullet through my helmet.’
Research by Andrew Emeny, History Teacher at ICHS
Sources:
Ancestry.com
ICHS school records and magazines
Commonwealth War Graves Commission
Note
Ilford County High School started life as the Park Higher Grade School in 1901 in Balfour Road, Ilford. It was renamed Ilford County High School (or initially County High School, Ilford) in the years after the school’s management was transferred from Ilford School Board to Essex Education Committee in 1904.