BLAKE, Alexander
| Service Number: | 5055 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | Not yet discovered |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | 11th Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | Fremantle, Western Australia, 1879 |
| Home Town: | Geraldton, Western Australia |
| Schooling: | Geraldton State School, Western Australia |
| Occupation: | Labourer |
| Died: | Killed in Action, France, 27 February 1917 |
| Cemetery: |
No known grave - "Known Unto God" Villers-Bretonneux Memorial, Villers-Bretonneux, Picardie, France |
| Memorials: | Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour, Fremantle 849 Memorial, Geraldton District Great War Honour Roll, Villers-Bretonneux Memorial (Australian National Memorial - France) |
World War 1 Service
| 31 Mar 1916: | Involvement Private, 5055, 11th Infantry Battalion, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '10' embarkation_place: Fremantle embarkation_ship: HMAT Shropshire embarkation_ship_number: A9 public_note: '' | |
|---|---|---|
| 31 Mar 1916: | Embarked Private, 5055, 11th Infantry Battalion, HMAT Shropshire, Fremantle |
Help us honour Alexander Blake's service by contributing information, stories, and images so that they can be preserved for future generations.
Add my storyBiography contributed by Amber Blake
Alexander Blake's full name was Duncan Alexander John Blake. He was one of eight children of Henry and Mary Blake, Henry was a convict transported to WA in 1863. Alexander's place of birth is incorrectly listed as Kent UK on his enlistment papers, he was actually born in Fremantle where his dad was a barber. The whole family moved to Geraldton when Alexander was a child.
As an adult, Alexander was a wanderer and not on the right side of the law 100% of his time. He worked as a teamster on pastoral stations all over the Murchison and Wheatbelt regions of WA before enlisting. He never married nor became a parent. By the time he enlisted, both his parents had died.
His loss, in France 1917, was keenly felt, especially by his two brothers. Oldest brother Harry was his Next of Kin and a returned injured soldier himself. Arthur had been refused enlistement on medical grounds. From letters held on his service records, his brothers were both keen to receive his personal effects after he died and make his details availble for memorials.
Alexander enlisted to do better, be better and maybe find new opportunities. His family even today is proud of him for taking that chance.