BLAKE, Leslie Walter
(Service number 26/955)
| First Rank | Rifleman | Last Rank | Rifleman |
|---|
Birth
| Date | 01/11/1890 | Place of Birth | Waimate |
|---|
Enlistment Information
| Date | 16 October 1915 | Age | 24 years 11 months |
|---|---|---|---|
| Address at Enlistment | 30 Bay Road, Kilbirnie | ||
| Occupation | Storeman | ||
| Previous Military Experience | |||
| Marital Status | Single | ||
| Next of Kin | Mrs W. Elizabeth BLAKE (mother), 30 Bay Road, Kilbirnie, Wellington | ||
Military Service
| Served with | NZ Armed Forces | Served in | Army |
|---|
Embarkation Information
| Body on Embarkation | New Zealand Rifle Brigade | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Unit, Squadron, or Ship | 4th Battalion, D Company | ||
| Date | 5 February 1916 | ||
| Transport | Ulimaroa or Mokoia or Navua | ||
| Embarked From | Wellington | Destination | |
| Other Units Served With | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Last Unit Served With | Rifle Brigade | ||
Military Awards
| Campaigns | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Service Medals | British War Medal; Victory Medal | ||
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 | 24 February 1958 | Age | 67 years |
|---|---|---|---|
| Place of Death | Levin | ||
| Cause | |||
| Memorial or Cemetery | Tiro Tiro Road Cemetery, Levin | ||
| New Zealand Memorials | |||
Biographical Notes
Leslie Walter Blake was born on 1 November 1890 at Waimate, the fourth 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. Leslie was surely educated at Waimate District High School.
He was a storeman, living at home, when he enlisted on 1 October 1915. Single and of Church of England affiliation, he named his mother as next-of-kin – Mrs W. (Elizabeth) Blake, 30 Bay Road, Kilbirnie, Wellington. Rifleman L. W. Blake embarked with the New Zealand Rifle Brigade, departing from Wellington on 5 February 1916. L. W. Blake, 26/955, of Kilbirnie, was invalided back to New Zealand, arriving in mid-June 1917. He was discharged on 10 July 1917 and was awarded the British War Medal and the Victory Medal.
In October 1917, Leslie married Agnes Theresa Ness. They had two children. Agnes died in September 1928 and was buried at Karori. Also buried at Karori, in 1976, is Leslie’s second wife – Ivy Margaret Baillie – whom he married in 1934. Leslie Walter Blake died on 24 February 1958 at Levin and was buried in the Old Levin Cemetery (also known as Tiro Tiro Road Cemetery. His grave in the RSA block is marked by a services plaque.
Four of his brothers also served in World War One – John Henry Blake, Charles Edward Blake, George Stanley Blake and Allan Blake. His nephew, Flying Officer Eric George Blake, lost his life in World War Two. The name of Private Leslie 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]; Tiro Tiro Road Cemetery, Levin burial record & headstone image (Horowhenua District Council) [09 July 2022]; NZ Times, 13 June 1917, 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.