Borton was born at
Cheveney,
Kent to British officer Arthur Close Borton, the eldest son of
Sir Arthur Borton and Adelaide Beatrice Drummond, a grandchild of
Robert Kaye Greville. Borton was educated at
Eton College and
Sandhurst, before being commissioned into the
King's Royal Rifle Corps in 1902 with whom he served in the
Second Boer War. In 1908 he left the Army as unfit for general service. Borton was appointed Second-in-Command of the 2nd/22nd London Regiment (The Queen's) in June 1916, serving in France and Palestine. He was a 34-year-old
lieutenant colonel in the 2/22nd (County of London) Battalion, the
London Regiment, British Army, when the following deed took place for which he was awarded the VC. On 7 November 1917 at
Palestine, Borton deployed his battalion for attack and at dawn led his companies against a strongly held position. When the leading waves were checked by withering fire, he moved freely up and down the line under heavy fire and then led his men forward, capturing the position. At a later stage he led a party of volunteers against a battery of field-guns in action at point-blank range, capturing the guns and the detachments. His fearless leadership was an example to the whole brigade. He died on 5 January 1933 at
Southwold in Suffolk, aged 49. His Victoria Cross is displayed at the Queen's Royal Surrey Regiment Museum,
Clandon Park,
Guildford,
Surrey. Borton's younger brother was Air Vice Marshal
Amyas Borton. He married Lorna Lockhart in 1915. ==Honours and awards==