No.5055 – Private Alexander Blake 11th Battalion AIF
Alexander Blake was born in Fremantle Western Australia to Henry & Mary Blake in 1885, where the family lived in Cantonment Street. He went to the local State School but at an unknown date the family moved up to Geraldton where Alex was working as a farm hand. Alex also had some experience working as a miner.
When he enlisted into the AIF in January 1916 it seems he was working as a farm hand in the Northam district. In March 1916, Alex was given his medical examination at Bunbury Camp where he was found to be 5 feet 7 inches; weight of 140 lbs; chest measurement of 35-37 inches; dark complexion; brown eyes and dark hair. His religious denomination was Church of England.
Alex was assigned to the 10th Reinforcements to the 11th Battalion which left Fremantle on the 31st March 1916 aboard the A9 H.M.A.T. “Shropshire”. They arrived in Egypt on the 24th April 1916 and disembarked to join the 3rd Training Battalion. Alex embarked for France on the 29th May and arrived in Marseilles on the 3rd June 1916. After arrival he was sent north to Etaples to join the 1st Australian Division Base Depot. He stayed at the Base Depot for just over three weeks and joined the 11th Battalion in the field on the 1st July 1916. This was the day that the infamous Somme battle began, though the 11th Battalion would not get drawn into battle until the 21st July at Pozieres.
During the 11th Battalion’s action at Pozieres, Alex was wounded and was evacuated back to hospital with Shell Shock. It was serious enough for him to be evacuated back to England where he was admitted to hospital at Chichester. Alex soon recovered and was back in France by the 1st October 1916 where he spent two weeks at the Base Depot at Etaples and he rejoined the 11th Battalion on the 16th October.
Alex would spend the next few months with the 11th Battalion in the Flers region during the coldest French winter for decades. On the 27th February 1917 Alex Blake was killed in action.
Unfortunately no eyewitness accounts seem to exist and it seems Alex’s body was not recovered after his death as he is commemorated on the Villers-Bretonneux Memorial.
