Who is Rex Porter, WW1 Anzac?
There’s no question that we all get frustrated at uncaptioned photos. They are the bain of every genealogist or historians life. It’s Murphy’s Law that we’re bound to come across the most awesomest photo in the family collection, but it’s uncaptioned. Which leaves us with so many questions. Who is in the photo? Where was it taken? When was it taken? What was the occasion? And so on …
But here’s one that IS captioned that GIVES me so many questions, so I’m sharing it in the hope that someone can help answer some of them.
As you can see from the picture below it is captioned “Rex Porter in Swansea 1912”. As I don’t have any Porter’s that I know of in my family history I don’t know how this photo ended up in my family’s collection. But I do know that my dad ended up with some items as he was the local historian for the town of Gumeracha in the Adelaide Hills, and people gave him things that were relevant to the region or to other families in the district, so I wondered if this was one of those items.
So I started my search at the National Archives of Australia to check out what they list for Rex Porter. I did a search for record from 1910-1920, and came up with two entries.
(click for a larger image)
So my options from that site are:
- Rex Wilfred Porter, who enlisted at Sydney, New South Wales in July 1918.
- Winfred Rex Porter, who enlisted at Adelaide, South Australia in September 1915.
Based on the dates of both of these, together with the date on the photo, neither seem likely. However Winfred Rex Porter’s next of kin (his wife) is listed as Florence E. Porter and living at Mannum, South Australia.
So we have a vague connection, in that I found this photo in with the photos of “Mannum in Flood“. Still I don’t exactly know who it is. Or why it was in my family’s collection. Then again, maybe I do have the right guy (Winfred Rex Porter from Mannum), and whoever captioned it got the wrong date.
Soooo many questions …
But I figured that the internet is a big-wide-world out there, and someone is bound be related to this gentleman, and they may be able to verify just who it is. And who knows, they may never have seen this picture before, in which case that’s a bonus for everyone.
So do you know Rex Porter, who was a World War 1 Anzac?
11 Responses to “Who is Rex Porter, WW1 Anzac?”
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I’m nearly 100% per cent certain that this is a photo of my late grandfather Winfred Rex Porter. He was always known as Rex. I only have a couple of photos of him at a young age but I’m sure it is him. I would love a copy of this photo if possible. My dad was born in Mannum but the family eventually moved to Bendigo.
Jenny, I’ll send you an email in reply.
Rex Porter married Florence Eva Phillips in 1916 in South Australia. She was a sister of my Grandmother Teenie Aubrey Phillips. The family lived in Mannum South Australia. I would love to contact any family and swap photos or information. sThanks Kym
Rex was a brother in law to my grandmother Teenie Aubrey Parham nee Phillips. Would Jenny contact me regarding a family tree. Thanks Kym
Hi guys Florence Eva Phillips married Rex Porter in 1916. She was the older sister of my Grandmother Teenie Aubrey Parham nee Phillips. I would like to contact family members to exchange information for a family tree. Thanks Kym
Rex, If you look up Winfred Rex Porter on the Virtual War Memorial Australia (www.vwma.org.au) you will see that I have crated a profile utilising various official sources plus some information gleaned from Alona’s blog. If you have any further information, photographs etc then we can load those onto the profile as well.
Hi Tim
Do you want me to send you the details or I could update the profile myself.
Regards Kym Truscott
Kym,
You can update Rex‘s profile yourself. You simply need to register on the website – see the top right hand corner – and then enter the details. All inputs are validated by the VWMA team for accuracy and appropriateness before they are finally posted. This process usually takes 2 to 3 days. If you would like me to assist you to step through this the first time I’m happy to help. Simply send me your best contact details when you are ready and I can make myself available.
Also, if you have any material relating to Rex’s son who served in the Navy in World War II it would be good to enter those as well.
All the best,
Tim
Thanks Tim
if possible may I email you some detail I have on Rex. My email is kymtruscott@ymail.com
You seem have research avenues I am not familiar with.
Regards Kym
Kym,
Please send me anything you have and I will upload it and value add where I can.
Tim
What is your email Tim