View source for David Blake (general)

{{short description|Australian Army general}}
{{refimprove|date=October 2016}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2016}}
{{Use Australian English|date=April 2016}}
{{Infobox military person
|name= David Valentine Jardine Blake
|image=
|image_size=
|alt=
|caption=
|nickname=
|birth_date= {{birth date|1887|11|10|df=yes}}
|birth_place= Parramatta, [[Colony of New South Wales]]
|death_date= {{death date and age|1965|03|06|1887|11|10|df=yes}}<ref>[http://www.bdm.nsw.gov.au/cgi-bin/IndexSearch?form=IndexingSearch&SessionID=32339097&sname=Blake&gname=David&fname=&mname=&event=deaths&frange=1965&trange=1965&place= NSW Register of Births, Deaths and Marriages]{{dead link|date=December 2017 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>
|death_place= [[Newtown, New South Wales]]
|placeofburial=
|allegiance= Australia
|branch= [[Australian Army]]
|serviceyears= 1911–1947
|rank= [[Major general (Australia)|Major General]]
|unit=
|commands= [[7th Military District (Australia)|7th Military District]] (1941–42)<br/>Australian Flying Corps Training Depot (1919)<br/>[[No. 3 Squadron RAAF|No. 3 Squadron AFC]] (1916–18)
|battles=
{{tree list}}
* [[First World War]]
* [[Second World War]]
** [[Bombing of Darwin]]
{{tree list/end}}
|awards= [[Mentioned in Despatches]] (2)<br/>[[Distinguished Service Medal (U.S. Army)|Distinguished Service Medal]] (United States)
|laterwork=
}}
[[Major general (Australia)|Major General]] '''David Valentine Jardine Blake''' (10 November 1887 – 6 March 1965) was a senior commander of the [[Australian Army]] who served in both [[world war]]s.
==Early life==
David Blake was born on 10 November 1887 in [[Parramatta, New South Wales]]. He was educated at Marist Brothers, Parramatta.
==First World War==
[[File:David_Valentine_Blake.png|thumb|Major David Valentine Blake (2nd from right), officer commanding 3 Squadron, Australian Flying Corps, with unnamed officers]]
Blake was [[Officer (armed forces)|commissioned]] as a career officer in the [[Australian Army]]'s Permanent Military Forces in 1911. In September 1916, as a [[Major (rank)|major]], he became the first commanding officer of the newly formed [[No. 3 Squadron RAAF|No. 3 Squadron]] [[Australian Flying Corps]] (then part of the army). The squadron was deployed to Belgium and France in late 1917, performing a combined [[reconnaissance]] and offensive role.
From early 1918, No. 3 Squadron flew in a sector of the [[Somme (river)|Somme]] Valley, facing German planes commanded by the "Red Baron", [[Manfred von Richthofen]]. When the baron was shot down and killed behind [[Allies of World War I|allied]] lines on 21 April 1918, the disposal of his remains became Blake's responsibility. Blake initially reported that a 3 Sqn [[Royal Aircraft Factory R.E.8|R.E.8]] may have shot down Richthofen. However, following an autopsy, Blake became a strong proponent of the view that ground-based Australian machine-gunners had killed the baron. Blake remained 3 Sqn CO until October 1918. The following year, he was transferred to Australia.
==Second World War==
After the outbreak of the [[Second World War]], Blake's first significant command (as a [[major general]]) was Officer Commanding, [[7th Military District (Australia)|7th Military District]] (the [[Northern Territory]]), based in [[Darwin, Northern Territory|Darwin]], from September 1941. The post gained in importance when [[Pacific War|war with Japan]] broke out in December. In January 1942, Blake's position was incorporated into the short-lived [[American-British-Dutch-Australian Command]].
Blake was the senior Allied officer present during the first [[Bombing of Darwin|air raids on Darwin]] on 19 February 1942. In the wake of the initial Japanese raids—and fearing a surface attack—Blake decided to remove all Allied forces from central Darwin and other coastal areas. He was later criticised for this decision, as withdrawing from a major [[Materiel|supply]] node was considered a cardinal error in military theory. Later that year, as a major Allied build-up in northern Australia got underway, Blake was moved to the position of General Officer Commanding, Lines of Communication, Northern Territory Area.
Blake retired from the army in 1947.
==References==
{{Reflist}}
==External links==
*[http://recordsearch.naa.gov.au/SearchNRetrieve/Interface/ViewImage.aspx?B=4154021&S=1 Personal file at National Archives of Australia]
*[http://parramattamaristobu.org.au/index.php/in-uniform1/16-in-uniform/detail/70-major-general-david-valentine-blake.html?tmpl=component Photograph at Parramatta Marist Old Boys Union] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304085615/http://parramattamaristobu.org.au/index.php/in-uniform1/16-in-uniform/detail/70-major-general-david-valentine-blake.html?tmpl=component |date=4 March 2016 }}
*[https://www.awm.gov.au/people/P10676871/ Profile at Australian War Memorial]
{{Australian Generals of World War II}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Blake, David Valentine Jardine}}
[[Category:1887 births]]
[[Category:1965 deaths]]
[[Category:Australian generals]]
[[Category:Australian military personnel of World War I]]
[[Category:Australian Army personnel of World War II]]
[[Category:Military personnel from New South Wales]]
[[Category:Recipients of the Distinguished Service Medal (US Army)]]
[[Category:Foreign recipients of the Distinguished Service Medal (United States)]]
[[Category:Military personnel from Sydney]]
[[Category:People educated at Parramatta Marist High School]]