While there were many instances of daring and courage during Operation Jubilee, three men in particular were rewarded for acts of outstanding valour during the raid.
MAJOR PAT PORTEOUS
Operation Jubilee is remembered as a costly failure, but two of the units involved in the raid, and only two, succeeded in attaining their objectives. One of these was No.4 Commando, led by Major Lord Lovat.
Consisting of 252 men, No.4 Commando was tasked with destroying the powerful six-gun ‘Hess’ battery sited at Varengeville-sur-Mer to the west of Dieppe ahead of the main landings. If the battery’s 150mm guns were not silenced, they could devastate the slow-moving flotilla packed with thousands of troops.
For the assault upon the battery, the Commando was split into two groups, with Captain Pat Porteous the liaison officer between the two groups.
The Commandos crept forward in the dark and destroyed barbed wire, telephone lines and some German defences, and succeeded in crossing a minefield. When daylight came they were confronted by thirty or more German assault troops, whom they killed, but others soon took their place and the Commandos began to take casualties.
During the initial assault on the battery, Porteous foun…
