BLAKE, George Stanley
(Service number 10303)
| First Rank | Private | Last Rank |
|---|
Birth
| Date | 19/11/1895 | Place of Birth | Waimate |
|---|
Enlistment Information
| Date | 11 January 1916 | Age | 20 years |
|---|---|---|---|
| Address at Enlistment | 30 Bay Rod, Kilbirnie, Wellington | ||
| Occupation | Storeman | ||
| Previous Military Experience | 5th Regiment - serving | ||
| Marital Status | Single | ||
| Next of Kin | Mr William BLAKE (father), 30 Bay Road, Kilbirnie, Wellington | ||
Military Service
| Served with | NZ Armed Forces | Served in | Army |
|---|
Embarkation Information
| Body on Embarkation | New Zealand Expeditionary Force | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Unit, Squadron, or Ship | 12th Reinforcements, Wellington Infantry Battalion, J Company | ||
| Date | 6 May 1916 | ||
| Transport | Mokoia | ||
| Embarked From | Wellington | Destination | Suez, Egypt |
| Other Units Served With | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Last Unit Served With | |||
Military Awards
| Campaigns | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Service Medals | |||
Award Circumstances and Date
No information
Prisoner of War Information
| Date of Capture | |
|---|---|
| Where Captured and by Whom | |
| Actions Prior to Capture | |
| PoW Serial Number | |
| PoW Camps | |
| Days Interned | |
| Liberation Date |
Death
| Date | 1 May 1974 | Age | 78 years |
|---|---|---|---|
| Place of Death | Papakura | ||
| Cause | |||
| Memorial or Cemetery | Papakura Cemetery, Auckland | ||
| New Zealand Memorials | |||
Biographical Notes
George Stanley Blake was born on 19 November 1895 at Waimate, the fifth son of William and Elizabeth (née Mann) Blake. William and Elizabeth had married in 1878 at Waimate and went on to have eleven children born there. George was admitted to Temuka School from Waimate District High School in February 1907 and left in October 1907 for the North Island. In the Wellington area, he attended Newtown and Island Bay schools, leaving the latter just after his 15th birthday.
George was a storeman living at home when he enlisted on 11 January 1916. Single and Methodist, he named his father as next-of-kin – Mr William Blake, 30 Bay Road, Kilbirnie, Wellington. He had served with the Eketahuna Mounted Rifles until he left the district and e was still serving with the 5th Regiment. Private G. S. Blake embarked with the Wellington Infantry Battalion of the 12thy Reinforcements, departing from Wellington for Suez, Egypt, per the “Mokoia” on 6 May 1916. G. S. Blake, 10303, of Kilbirnie, arrived home in New Zealand (Draft 407) at the end of January 1918. He was discharged on 23 April 1918 and in June married Mabel Frances Nuttall. George and Mabel had six children, their first-born, Flying Officer Eric George Blake, lost his life in World War Two, dying on 4 May 1944 at the age of 24.
George Blake died on 1 May 1974 at Papakura, aged 78 years, and was buried at Papakura Cemetery, Auckland. Mabel died in 1998 and was buried with George. Four of his brothers also served in World War One – John Henry Blake, Charles Edward Blake, Leslie Walter Blake and Allan Blake. The name of Private George Blake appeared regularly on the Waimate Daily Advertiser Roll of Honour under the sub-title of Answered the Call.
Sources
Auckland War Memorial Museumm Cenotaph Database [04 July 2022]; NZ BDM Indexes (Department of Internal Affairs) [04 July 2022]; School Admission records (South Canterbury & Wellington branches NZSG) [08 July 2022]; Papakura Cemetery headstone image [08 July 2022]; Papakura Cemetery burial record (Auckland Council) [09 July 2022]; NZ Times, 1 February 1918, Waimate Daily Advertiser, 30 May 1918 (Papers Past) [18 September 2019; 09 July 2022]
External Links
Related Documents
No documents available.
Researched and Written by
Teresa Scott, Teresa Scott, South Canterbury Genealogy Society
Currently Assigned to
Not assigned.
Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License unless otherwise stated.