John Philip Blake (17 November 1917 — 3 June 1944) was an English first-class

cricket Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by striki ...

er and

Royal Marines The Corps of Royal Marines (RM), also known as the Royal Marines Commandos, are the UK's special operations capable commando force, amphibious light infantry and also one of the five fighting arms of the Royal Navy. The Corps of Royal Marine ...

officer. Blake played

first-class cricket First-class cricket, along with List A cricket and Twenty20 cricket, is one of the highest-standard forms of cricket. A first-class match is one of three or more days' scheduled duration between two sides of eleven players each and is officiall ...

in the late 1930s for both

Cambridge University , mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts. Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge. , established = , other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...

and

Hampshire Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants) is a ceremonial county, ceremonial and non-metropolitan county, non-metropolitan counties of England, county in western South East England on the coast of the English Channel. Home to two major English citi ...

. He later served in the

during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, being posthumously decorated with the

Military Cross The Military Cross (MC) is the third-level (second-level pre-1993) military decoration awarded to officers and (since 1993) other ranks of the British Armed Forces, and formerly awarded to officers of other Commonwealth countries. The MC i ...

Early life and first-class cricket

The son of Philip and Marjorie Flora Blake, he was born at

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port and city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. The city of Portsmouth has been a unitary authority since 1 April 1997 and is administered by Portsmouth City Council. Portsmouth is the most dens ...

in November 1917. His father was a dentist in the nearby town of

Havant Havant ( ) is a town in the south-east corner of Hampshire, England between Portsmouth and Chichester. Its borough (population: 125,000) comprises the town (45,826) and its suburbs including the resort of Hayling Island as well as Rowland's Castl ...

. He had a younger brother,

David David (; , "beloved one") (traditional spelling), , ''Dāwūd''; grc-koi, Δαυΐδ, Dauíd; la, Davidus, David; gez , ዳዊት, ''Dawit''; xcl, Դաւիթ, ''Dawitʿ''; cu, Давíдъ, ''Davidŭ''; possibly meaning "beloved one". w ...

, who would also play first-class cricket. Aged 7, he was seriously injured on 13 April 1925 when he was hit by a car whilst crossing a road in

Harpenden Harpenden () is a town and civil parish in the City and District of St Albans in the county of Hertfordshire, England. The population of the built-up area was 30,240 in the 2011 census, whilst the population of the civil parish was 29,448. Har ...

, while staying in the town with a relative. Blake was educated at Emsworth House School, before proceeding to

Aldenham School Aldenham School is a co-educational independent school for pupils aged eleven to eighteen, located between Elstree and the village of Aldenham in Hertfordshire, England. There is also a preparatory school for pupils from the ages of five to ele ...

as a scholar, where he played for the school cricket team and headed its averages in 1935. From there, he matriculated to study mathematics at

St John's College, Cambridge St John's College is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge founded by the House of Tudor, Tudor matriarch Lady Margaret Beaufort. In constitutional terms, the college is a charitable corpo ...

. While studying at Cambridge, he made his debut in

for

against

Sussex Sussex (), from the Old English (), is a historic county in South East England that was formerly an independent medieval Anglo-Saxon kingdom. It is bounded to the west by Hampshire, north by Surrey, northeast by Kent, south by the English ...

Worthing Worthing () is a seaside town in West Sussex, England, at the foot of the South Downs, west of Brighton, and east of Chichester. With a population of 111,400 and an area of , the borough is the second largest component of the Brighton and Hov ...

in the

1938 County Championship The 1938 County Championship was the 45th officially organised running of the County Championship. Yorkshire County Cricket Club Yorkshire County Cricket Club is one of 18 first-class county clubs within the domestic cricket structure of ...

. A member of

Cambridge University Cricket Club Cambridge University Cricket Club, first recorded in 1817, is the representative cricket club for students of the University of Cambridge. Depending on the circumstances of each individual match, the club has always been recognised as holding ...

, Blake made a single first-class appearance for Cambridge the following season against the

British Army cricket team The Army cricket team is a cricket side representing the British Army. The Army team played 51 first-class matches between 1912 and 1939, although a combined Army and Navy side had played two games against a combined Oxford and Cambridge team ...

, in addition to playing for Hampshire ''against'' Cambridge University. In 1939, which was his final year at Cambridge, he played extensively for Cambridge, making fourteen appearances; this included playing in that seasons

University Match The University Match in a cricketing context is generally understood to refer to the annual fixture between Oxford University Cricket Club and Cambridge University Cricket Club. From 2001, as part of the reorganisation of first-class cricket, ...

against

Oxford University Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

Lord's Lord's Cricket Ground, commonly known as Lord's, is a cricket venue in St John's Wood, London. Named after its founder, Thomas Lord, it is owned by Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) and is the home of Middlesex County Cricket Club, the England and ...

, which gained him his

Blue Blue is one of the three primary colours in the RYB colour model (traditional colour theory), as well as in the RGB (additive) colour model. It lies between violet and cyan on the spectrum of visible light. The eye perceives blue when obs ...

. Later in the summer of 1939, he made seven first-class appearances for Hampshire. In total, he played fifteen first-class matches for Cambridge and fourteen for Hampshire. For Cambridge, he scored 767 runs at an

average In ordinary language, an average is a single number taken as representative of a list of numbers, usually the sum of the numbers divided by how many numbers are in the list (the arithmetic mean). For example, the average of the numbers 2, 3, 4, 7, ...

of 31.95, with seven half centuries and a highest score of 88. For Hampshire, he scored 328 runs at an average of 13.66, with a highest score of 48. After graduating from Cambridge, Blake became a maths teacher at

Sherborne School (God and My Right) , established = 705 by Aldhelm, re-founded by King Edward VI 1550 , closed = , type = Public school Independent, boarding school , religion = Church of England , president = , chair_label = Chairman of the governors , ...

and a tutor at

Westcott House, Cambridge Westcott House is an Anglican theological college based on Jesus Lane in the centre of the university city of Cambridge in the United Kingdom.Westcott House website, Home pag Retrieved on August 27, 2006. Its main activity is training people for ...

Second World War service

The

began on 1 September 1939, with Blake being commissioned in the

in December 1939 as a temporary

second lieutenant Second lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces, comparable to NATO OF-1 rank. Australia The rank of second lieutenant existed in the military forces of the Australian colonies and Australian Army until ...

, before being appointed a temporary

lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations. The meaning of lieutenant differs in different militaries (see comparative military ranks), but it is often sub ...

in March 1940. He took part in the failed

Operation Menace The Battle of Dakar, also known as Operation Menace, was an unsuccessful attempt in September 1940 by the Allies to capture the strategic port of Dakar in French West Africa (modern-day Senegal). It was hoped that the success of the operation cou ...

in September 1940. In October 1941, he was appointed a temporary

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

. In 1943, Blake joined the newly formed

43 Commando The 43 Commando Fleet Protection Group Royal Marines (43 Cdo FP Gp RM), formerly Comacchio Company Royal Marines (1980–1983), Comacchio Group Royal Marines (1983–2001) and Fleet Protection Group Royal Marines (2001–2012), is a 550-man un ...

. He took part in the Anzio landings in January 1944, alongside

No. 9 Commando No. 9 Commando was a battalion-sized British Commando unit raised by the British Army during the Second World War. It took part in raids across the English Channel and in the Mediterranean, ending the war in Italy as part of the 2nd Special Servic ...

. There, they were tasked with capturing three mountains to extend the allied bridgehead over The Garigliano. Following a nighttime battle, fought under heavy machine gun and mortar fire, they captured Monte Ornito. For his personal courage and leadership during this engagement, he was awarded the

. However, his Military Cross would be awarded posthumously. In June 1944, 43 Commando were withdrawn to the

Adriatic Sea The Adriatic Sea () is a body of water separating the Italian Peninsula from the Balkan Peninsula. The Adriatic is the northernmost arm of the Mediterranean Sea, extending from the Strait of Otranto (where it connects to the Ionian Sea) to t ...

, where they attacked a German stronghold on the island of

Brač Brač is an island in the Adriatic Sea within Croatia, with an area of , making it the largest island in Dalmatia, and the third largest in the Adriatic. It is separated from the mainland by the Brač Channel, which is wide. The island's talle ...

in German-occupied Yugoslavia. Lacking the appropriate support for the operation, Blake was killed during a German counter-attack, having successfully led his men through a minefield. Blake was buried at the Belgrade War Cemetery.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Blake, John 1917 births 1944 deaths Cricketers from Portsmouth Military personnel from Portsmouth People educated at Aldenham School Alumni of St John's College, Cambridge English cricketers Hampshire cricketers Cambridge University cricketers Royal Marines Commando officers Royal Marines personnel killed in World War II Recipients of the Military Cross