2nd Lieutenant V. Blake, NZEF Clicking on Photo will return to Page A - B

BLAKE 2nd Lieutenant Valentine Canterbury Battalion, New Zealand Expeditionary Force Born 7th October 1887, in Windsor, NSW, Australia. Educated: Victoria College, Wellington, NZ. Single; Government Land Surveyor, of Windsor Hotel, Wellington, New Zealand. Next Of Kin: Father; Vincent Ignatius Blake, Commissioner of Crown Lands. Mother; Kathleen Hamilton Blake (nee Hunter), of Lands & Survey Office, Gisborne, New Zealand.

Promoted from Sergeant to 2nd Lieutenant on Probation, 6th Reinforcements, 31st July 1915. Joined the Battalion at Mudros, 30th September 1915.

'APPOINTMENT TO COMMISSION - SERGT. V. BLAKE, 'B' COY. 6TH REINFORCEMENTS.
I beg to remind you that this N.C.O. passed the First Appointment to Commissions Examination held in February last. I would recommend him for commissioned rank as he has an excellent character and exceptional educational qualifications apart from his military training. I may mention his qualifications as follows:-
Passed the Junior and Senior Civil Service & Matriculation Examinations.
Qualified as a Licensed Surveyor under the N.Z. Institute of Surveyors & Board of Examiners Act.
He had five years service with the 'D' Battery and was, prior to joining the 6th Reinforcements, an N.C.O. in the 5th (Wellington) Regiment.
He has an expert knowledge of Map Reading and Topography should you require accurate work in that connection.
(signed- Colonel Tate, C.O., Wellington Military District, 28th June 1915).

''Lieutenant Blake, Canterbury Battalion, reported killed in action, was a son of Mr. V. Blake, of the Gisborne Land and Survey Office. Lieutenant Blake was a surveyor, and was engaged in survey work in the Auckland Province when he enlisted. He left New Zealand with the 6th Reinforcements, receiving a commission just prior to the departure of the troops.' (The Dominion 18 Dec 1915 p5).

'The rest of our stay on Gallipoli was not very eventful. On the night of 22 November the Turks made a large bombing raid on the Apex, but their party of about fifty men was mostly wiped out. Another less determined attempt also failed. On 9 December our artillery carried out a heavy bombardment of the Pinnacle. The Turks naturally retailiated, and at dusk one one of our new officers, Lieut. Blake, was killed by a sudden volley.' (Malthus p143).

Buried originally in the Apex Burial Ground, 9th December 1915. Body exhumed after the war and re-interred in Embarkation Pier cemetery.