MAJOR TONY BLAKE. WW2 AND KOREA. The Blake family from Menlo Castle, Co. Galway have produced several military men, among them Major Tony Blake. He was born on the 1st December 1911 and named Charles Anthony Howell Bruce Blake and choose a career in the army as his father had before him. His chosen regiment was the Royal Ulster Rifles and as he spoke several languages he was appointed Military Attaché to Poland during WW2 where he participated in preparing the Polish Parachute Brigade as they attempted to take the Arnhem bridge. In September 1944 Blake was parachuted into Arnhem with the 1st Battalion Parachute Regiment and right from the start they met with great opposition from the Germans, with the mission being a disaster with many allied losses. Blake was just one of three officers who managed to survive the onslaught and he was later to refuse the DSO decoration on the grounds that he considered the losses unacceptable but his other decorations included the Czech Military Cross, the U.S Distinguished Service Cross, and the Polish Military Cross among others. Major Blake was PA to Sir James Steele (buried Ballycarry, Co. Antrim) during his C-in-C tour of Austria and he stayed with General Steele when he became adjutant general at the War Office. It wasnt until the Korean War broke out that Major Tony Blake was given command of a regiment of the Royal Ulster Rifles which sadly turned out to be his last. The Korean campaign was one of the worst conflicts and one that is all but forgotten. On the 4th January 1951 the Chinese launched a night time blitzkrieg and some men from the RUR were tasked with investigating the situation, but they were never seen again. Irish Hussar tanks were placed to protect the RUR but they also were destroyed with 300 of the Royal Ulster Rifles soldiers being killed and the only way to save lives was to retreat. Thankfully the troops got away but some of the officers stayed behind and were taken prisoner. A Chinese officer enquired who the officer in charge was and Blake stepped forward followed by his batman whereupon the officer drew his pistol and shot both men dead. Major Tony Blake was buried in the United Nations Memorial Cemetery, Busan. South Korea.
Posted on: Sat, 17 Jan 2015 10:50:15 +0000