ADMIRAL BLAKE

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXV, Issue 22941, 20 January 1938, Page 13

ADMIRAL BLAKE

SERVICE CAREER ENDS - 's'•/ . RETIRED AT OWN REQUEST SEQUEL TO AN ILLNESS BRILLIANT RECORD IN NAVY Vice-Admiral Sir Geoffrey Blake, K.C.8., D.5.0., has retired from the Royal Navy at his own request for health reasons, according to a Press Association cablegram from London. .

During the summer of last year, Vice-Admiral Blake had been in charge of naval control on the northern Spanish sector, in which Bilbao was included, and in October be was appointed to the command of the anti.piracy control. In December he returned to England on sick leave after two months in hospital as the result of an illness contracted while swimming in Malta harbour. As commodore commanding the New Zealand Division of the Royal Navy, Vice-Admiral Blake won the highest esteem of the people of the Dominion. His tactful handling of the difficult situation created in Samoa by the Mau demonstrations in 1930 piroved invaluable in the restoration of order and earned the gratitude of the New Zealand Government.

Services at Napier A year later he made his name an enduring memory in the history of this # country when, immediately on receiving wireless news of the disastrous earthquake at Napier from H.M.S. Veronica, he hurried tbither in his flagship, Dunedin, accompanied by the cruiser Diomede, and during eight critical days personally directed operations for relief and reorganisation.

While on the New Zealand Station, Vice-Admiral Blake commanded the deep respect of both officers and ratings on account of his outstanding personal qualities as well as his first-class fighting record!. Promoted to the rank of commander in June, 1914, he ~„was probably the youngest officer of that rank »at the outbreak of the Great War. As gunnery commander in" the Iron Duke at Jutland, he won. the praise of Admiral Jellicoe for the. skill with which he inflicted severe damage on a German battleship of the Konigsberg class. In the honours list for the action, he was awarded the D.S.O.

Command in Dominion

Aftec serving in several important positions, he was appointed Chief-of-Staff of the Atlantic Fleet in December, 1927. In the New Year Honours list for 1929, he was made a Companion of the Order of the Bath, anil in April of that year was lent to the New Zealand Government as commodore -commanding the New Zealand Division of the Royal Navy. While on this station, he was promoted rearadmiral. V"

In 1932, he was recalled to England to become Fourth Sea Lord and Chief of Supplies and Transport,at the.Admiralty. Three years later, he Iras appointed rear-admiral commanding the First Cruiser Squadron, and in September of the same vear was pro-., moted vice-admiral.. In May, 1936, he * was given command of the BattleCruiser Squadron, then about to join the Mediterranean Fleet. This appointment placed him second, in command on that station,- a position which he retained until his retirement this month. He is succeeded by Vice-Ad-miral Andrew B. Cunningham.