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David Valentine Jardine Blake

 

 
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David Valentine Jardine Blake
 
 
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Major General
Major General (Australia)

Major General is a senior rank of the Australian Army, and was created as a direct equivalent of the United Kingdom military rank of Major General ....
 David Valentine Jardine Blake (born 10 November 1887 in Parramatta
Parramatta, New South Wales

Parramatta is a suburb in the Greater Western Sydney of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It sits on the bank of the Parramatta River, west of the Sydney central business district, approximately at the geographical centre of its metropolitan area....
 - ???) was a notable member of the Australian Army
Australian Army

The Australian Army is Australia's military land force. It is part of the Australian Defence Force along with the Royal Australian Navy and the Royal Australian Air Force....
 in both World War I
World War I

World War I, or the First World War , was a global military conflict which involved the Great powers, organized into two opposing military alliances: the Allies of World War I and the Central Powers....
 and World war II
World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global military conflict which involved a Participants in World War II, including all of the great powers, organised into two opposing military alliances: the Allies of World War II and the Axis powers....
, rising to the rank of Major General.
e was commissioned
Officer (armed forces)

An officer is a member of an Armed forces who holds a position of authority.Commissioned officers derive authority directly from a sovereignty power and, as such, hold a Letters patent charging them with the duties and responsibilities of a specific office or position....
 as a career officer, in the Australian Army
Australian Army

The Australian Army is Australia's military land force. It is part of the Australian Defence Force along with the Royal Australian Navy and the Royal Australian Air Force....
's Permanent Military Forces in January 1916, during World War I
World War I

World War I, or the First World War , was a global military conflict which involved the Great powers, organized into two opposing military alliances: the Allies of World War I and the Central Powers....
. In September 1916, as a Major
Major

In many European languages, the term Major refers to a military rank, denoting seniority at one of usually various levels of rank, for example: "Sergeant-Major" denoting the most senior ranking sergeant of a large military unit; "Captain-Major", denoting a mid-level command status Officer ...
, he became the first commanding officer (CO) of the newly-formed No. 3 Squadron
No. 3 Squadron RAAF

No. 3 Squadron is a Royal Australian Air Force fighter squadron. It was first formed in 1916 and currently operates F/A-18 Hornet aircraft from RAAF Base Williamtown, near Sydney....
 (3 Sqn) Australian Flying Corps
Royal Australian Air Force

The Royal Australian Air Force is the Air Force branch of the Australian Defence Force. The RAAF began in March 1912 as the Australian Flying Corps and became a fully independent Air Force in March 1921....
 (which was then part of the army).






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Major General
Major General (Australia)

Major General is a senior rank of the Australian Army, and was created as a direct equivalent of the United Kingdom military rank of Major General ....
 David Valentine Jardine Blake (born 10 November 1887 in Parramatta
Parramatta, New South Wales

Parramatta is a suburb in the Greater Western Sydney of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It sits on the bank of the Parramatta River, west of the Sydney central business district, approximately at the geographical centre of its metropolitan area....
 - ???) was a notable member of the Australian Army
Australian Army

The Australian Army is Australia's military land force. It is part of the Australian Defence Force along with the Royal Australian Navy and the Royal Australian Air Force....
 in both World War I
World War I

World War I, or the First World War , was a global military conflict which involved the Great powers, organized into two opposing military alliances: the Allies of World War I and the Central Powers....
 and World war II
World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global military conflict which involved a Participants in World War II, including all of the great powers, organised into two opposing military alliances: the Allies of World War II and the Axis powers....
, rising to the rank of Major General.

World War I

Blake was commissioned
Officer (armed forces)

An officer is a member of an Armed forces who holds a position of authority.Commissioned officers derive authority directly from a sovereignty power and, as such, hold a Letters patent charging them with the duties and responsibilities of a specific office or position....
 as a career officer, in the Australian Army
Australian Army

The Australian Army is Australia's military land force. It is part of the Australian Defence Force along with the Royal Australian Navy and the Royal Australian Air Force....
's Permanent Military Forces in January 1916, during World War I
World War I

World War I, or the First World War , was a global military conflict which involved the Great powers, organized into two opposing military alliances: the Allies of World War I and the Central Powers....
. In September 1916, as a Major
Major

In many European languages, the term Major refers to a military rank, denoting seniority at one of usually various levels of rank, for example: "Sergeant-Major" denoting the most senior ranking sergeant of a large military unit; "Captain-Major", denoting a mid-level command status Officer ...
, he became the first commanding officer (CO) of the newly-formed No. 3 Squadron
No. 3 Squadron RAAF

No. 3 Squadron is a Royal Australian Air Force fighter squadron. It was first formed in 1916 and currently operates F/A-18 Hornet aircraft from RAAF Base Williamtown, near Sydney....
 (3 Sqn) Australian Flying Corps
Royal Australian Air Force

The Royal Australian Air Force is the Air Force branch of the Australian Defence Force. The RAAF began in March 1912 as the Australian Flying Corps and became a fully independent Air Force in March 1921....
 (which was then part of the army). The squadron was deployed to Belgium
Belgium

* A small German-speaking Community of Belgium exists in eastern Wallonia. Belgium's linguistic diversity and related political and cultural conflicts are reflected in the history of Belgium and a complex Communities and regions of Belgium....
 and France
France

France , officially the French Republic , is a country whose Metropolitan France is located in Western Europe and that also comprises various Overseas departments and territories of France....
 in late 1917, performing a combined reconnaissance
Reconnaissance

Reconnaissance is a military and medical term denoting exploration conducted to gain information. Militarily, its shorthand Australian, Canadian, and British form is recce , its American usage form is recon ....
 and offensive role.

From early 1918, 3 Sqn flew in a sector of the Somme
Somme

The Somme is a departments of France of France, located in the north of the country and named after the Somme River. It is part of the Picardie regions of France....
 Valley, facing German
Germany

Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered to the north by the North Sea, Denmark, and the Baltic Sea; to the east by Poland and the Czech Republic; to the south by Austria and Switzerland; and to the west by France, Luxembourg, Belgium, and the Netherlands....
 planes commanded by the "Red Baron", Manfred von Richthofen
Manfred von Richthofen

Manfred Albrecht Freiherr von Richthofen was a German fighter pilot known as the "Red Baron". He was the most successful flying ace of World War I, being officially credited with 80 confirmed Aerial warfare victories....
. When the baron was shot down and killed behind Allied lines on 21 April 1918, the disposal of his remains became Blake's responsibility. Blake initially reported that a 3 Sqn RE8 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.

World War II

After the outbreak of World War II
World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global military conflict which involved a Participants in World War II, including all of the great powers, organised into two opposing military alliances: the Allies of World War II and the Axis powers....
, Blake's first significant command (as a Major General
Major General

Major General or Major-General is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of Sergeant Major General. A Major General is a high-ranking officer, normally subordinate to the rank of Lieutenant General and senior to the ranks of Brigadier and Brigadier General....
) was Officer Commanding, 7th Military District (the Northern Territory
Northern Territory

The Northern Territory is a federal states and territories of Australia of Australia, occupying much of the centre of the mainland continent, as well as the central northern regions....
), based in Darwin
Darwin, Northern Territory

Darwin is the List of Australian capital cities of the Northern Territory, Australia. Situated on the Timor Sea, Darwin has a population of 120,900, making it by far the largest and most populated city in the sparsely peopled Northern Territory, but the least populous of all Australia's capital cities....
, from September 1941. The post gained in importance when war with Japan
Pacific War

The Pacific War was the part of World War II?and preceding conflicts?that took place in the Pacific Ocean, its islands, and in East Asia, between July 7, 1937 and August 14, 1945....
 broke out in December. In January 1942, Blake's position was incorporated into the short-lived American-British-Dutch-Australian Command
American-British-Dutch-Australian Command

File:ABDACOM Map.jpg The American-British-Dutch-Australian Command, code name ABDACOM, was a short-lived, supreme command for all Allied forces in South East Asia, in early 1942, during the Pacific War in World War II....
.

He was the senior Allied officer present during the devastating 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 it made a cardinal error in military theory: withdrawing from a major supply
Materiel

Materiel is a term used in English language to refer to the equipment and supply in Military supply chain management and Business supply chain management....
 node. 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.

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