Captain George Penderell Blake

Captain George Penderell Blake George, a school master at Bradford College, Berkshire, is just one of twenty-five names on the WW1 memorial in St Mary s Church, Moseley, who lost their lives during the course of the Battle of the Somme. George was killed in action on 20 th July 1916, in an attack to take the German stronghold Deville Wood., near Longueval. He was thirty-seven years old George s father was the third generation of his family to take up medicine and become a general practitioner. Great grandfather Valentine Bob Blake MD was a Naval Surgeon i from Southwark. He was married to Lilly (nee Walshman). The England Births and Baptism Register for 1818, records that Bob and Lilly baptised their son, Valentine Walshman Blake, at Southwark on the 15 th May. ii Figure 1: Old Square, Birmingham as it looked in 1897 Valentine Walshman Blake qualified as a General Practitioner and Surgeon in Guys Hospital in 1840. iii He married Sarah Maria Farncombe, from Bishopstone, Sussex, in 1847 iv and by 1851 had moved to 6, Old Square, St Philip s, Birmingham having obtained a position as a Fellow of the Obstetrical Society at Birmingham where he was a Surgeon to: the Industrial School; the Midland Counties Lying-in Hospital and Dispensary for Diseases for Women and Children; the Saltley Reformatory and the Midlands Counties Idiot Asylum, Knowle District. v Their first child, George Farncombe Blake, was born in 1848, vi followed closely by two daughters and two more sons. With a large household to run the services of three servants, a cook, a groom and governess were engaged to assist with running of the household. vii

Valentine went on to become a Consulting Surgeon. He not only practiced at 6 Old Square, Birmingham, the family home, but also at Fivelands, 98 Alcester Road, Moseley (now a veterinary centre) until his death in 1881. viii Figure 2: Fivelands, Moseley, now a Veterinary Centre Valentine s son, George Farncombe Blake, also qualified as a general practitioner and surgeon. He qualified in 1874, and registered on 25 th October 1875. ix Three years later, in 1878, he married Mary Elizabeth Eagles on St Valentine s Day, at St Bartholomew s Church, Aston. Mary s father, the Reverend James Eagles MA, the vicar of the parish, conducted the ceremony. x Just a month earlier his brother, Frederick, married Mary Young Randall in St Stephen s Church, Clapham. Frederick lived close by at Woodcote, Ashfield Road, Moseley having moved there from Fivelands after his marriage. xi By 1881, the census records George and Mary living at Bishopstone, 2 Cambridge Road, Moseley, Birmingham, with their first child George Penderell Blake, born 23 rd January 1879. xii Also living with them were George s parents, Valentine and Sarah, with the services of a cook and a housemaid. Bishopstone happens to be the name of the village where George s mother, Sarah, was born. Sadly, later that year, on 24 th November, George s father, Valentine, died aged 63 years. xiii Sarah was left 1064 10s from her husband s estate xiv and retired to live in East Preston on the South Coast where she remained living with her daughter Bertha, until her death in late 1891, aged 63 years. xv Figure 3: St Bartholomew s Church, Aston George and Mary had three further children, the others being Mary Cathlene (born 1882), Valentine Vernon (born 1883) and Lillian (born 1895). xvi At the age of ten, George is living in Wandsworth Common, Battersea with William Suard and his family as a boarder. Reverend Suard is recorded as a Clerk in Holy Orders and a Head Master of a Boys School. Reverend Suade s

son, Edward, was born in Moseley in 1885. xvii From the age of fourteen, George was educated at Malvern College, where he excelled in maths. He played football and cricket and was a Senior Chapel Prefect. xviii In 1898, George left school and on 25 th June was admitted to Trinity College, Cambridge as a mathematics scholar. In 1901 he graduated. xix Figure 4: Merchiston Castle School, Edinburgh In 1903, George obtained a post as assistant master at Merchiston Castle School, Edinburgh. Having been a Lieutenant in the Cadet Corps at Malvern College, being of age in 1905, George was given a commission as a Second Lieutenant in the 1 st Volunteer Battalion, Princess Charlotte of Wale s (Royal Berkshire Regiment), but, as he was based in Scotland, he was attached to the Queen s Rifle Volunteer Brigade, the Royal Scots (Lothian Regiment). xx Figure 5: Bradfield College, Berkshire In the autumn of1905, George was appointed a School Master at Bradfield College, Berkshire. During his time here, as well as teaching, he continued his own studies and gained a Masters Degree, in 1906. xxi Two years later, in October 1908, he was gazetted as a Lieutenant in the Territorial Force. xxii When war was declared, and hostilities commenced, George was offered a commission on 21 st January 1915 in the 10 th Battalion of the Royal Welsh Fusiliers as a temporary Captain. xxiii

The 10th (Service) Battalion, Royal Welsh Fusiliers was raised at Wrexham on the 16 th October 1914 as part of Kitchener's Third New Army and joined 76th Brigade, 25th Division. They moved to Codford for initial training and spent the winter in billets in Bournemouth before moving to Romsey on the 29th of April 1915 and then to Aldershot for final training on the 3rd of June 1915. They proceeded to France, landing at Boulogne on the 27th of September 1915. On the 15th of October 1915 the Battalion transferred with 76th Brigade to 3rd Division, spending their time in the Ypres sector. xxiv In the New Year, on the 18 th February 1916, George sustained a shrapnel injury from an exploding enemy shell. He Figure 6: Captain G P Blake was taken to the Red Cross Hospital at Le Touquet before being sent home from Le Havre on board the hospital ship, SS Copenhagen, on 4 th March, arriving at Southampton the next day. A medical board at the First Southern General Hospital on 30 th March passed George as fit for home duties as he was quite recovered, no local disability. xxv Figure 7: Hospital ship SS Copenhagen On 14 th April, now fully fit, George was given orders to report to Southampton, after 48 hours home leave. Six weeks later, on 31 st May 1916, George was transferred to B Coy as Company Commander. xxvi

In preparation for the Big Push, the 10 th Royal Welsh Fusiliers arrived in the Somme sector from St Omer in the North of France on 1st July 1916. Two weeks later the Battalion was placed in Divisional Reserve in order to support the battle for the Bazentin Ridge. Although the 10 th Battalion, as part of the 76 th Infantry Brigade, did not take part in the actual assault on 14 th July, their preparations and plans materially contributed to the success of the attack. The following day George and the Commanding Officer visited the captured trenches. On the 19 th July, the 10 th Battalion received orders to attack Deville Wood to straighten the salient created after the Battle of the Bazentin Ridge. At midnight on the 20 th July, the 10 th Battalion was ordered to take positions in Deville Wood, (see map below) in order to clear the Germans from this stronghold. Figure 8: The red box with 76 on the left, X on top and 3 on the right represents the position of the 10 th Battalion at midnight on the 20 th July 1916. The dotted line shows the route of their advance. The red lines show the position of the British Front Line. The German lines are in blue.

The Germans at the same time were trying to eliminate the salient and to retain the ground, which shielded German positions from view and overlooked the British positions. Without previous reconnaissance, the 10th Battalion were instructed to make their way, by compass bearing, to a point close to the south western corner of the woods to meet up with a guide and from there make their way east along South Street in single file, then north along Buchanan Street, held by the South Africans, to Princes Street. As so many troops, including the remains of the South African Brigades were involved in such a small area, the order was given that there should be no firing, but at this point the problems began. Although the battalion was nowhere near the line of Princes Street, rifle fire and short bursts of machine gun fire commenced. Very lights went up and the Germans Figure 9: Map of Longueval showing the street names

were heard shouting all over the woods. It became apparent that the guide was mistaken regarding the Battalion s position. George and two other officers elected to go due east, followed by the B Coy. Just 100 yards later the Germans appeared advancing, but they were repulsed by B Coy firing steadily at them. To make the best of an impossible situation, the advance continued but machine gun fire by the enemy, together with larger numbers of Germans now resisting, made the situation impossible and at 2.42 am the order was given to dig in. Just over an hour later, at 3.45, the order was given to attack as originally planned in the hope that the Suffolk Regiment would relieve the pressure on the 10 th Battalion, but owing to casualties, as a result of close quarter fighting, and the inability to mount a co-ordinated British attack, the need for a strategic withdrawal became apparent. Figure 10: Fighting in Deville Wood After daylight, with German snipers in action, the 10 th Battalion was on the defensive. At 3.26 am on 21 st July, more than a day after the attack had begun, the Battalion was relieved and returned to their original quarters in the Breslau Trenches. Sometime during the course of fierce, close quarter fighting that took place during the night of the 20 th July George was killed along with three fellow officers. Eleven other officers were wounded. Thirty-five other ranks were also killed, 119 wounded and 50 unaccounted for. xxvii

George is buried at the A I F Burial Ground, Flers. xxviii George is also commemorated on the WW1 memorial in St Mary s Church, also St Agnes Church, Moseley and Moseley Golf Club and at Trinity College, Cambridge. Top left: A I F Burial Ground, Flers Top right: WW1 memorial in St Mary s Church, Moseley Bottom left: St Agnes Church, Moseley, WW1 memorial Bottom right: Moseley Golf Club WW1 memorial Researched and written by Edwina Rees Moseley Society History Group

Endnotes i ii iii Marriage certificate of Valentine Walshman Blake gives father s name as Valentine Blake MD, surgeon The Medical Officers in the Royal Navy 1840 http://www.pdavis.nl/surgeons_1840.htm England, Births and Baptisms 1538-1975. Valentine s Walshman s father referred to as Bob Blake Royal College of Surgeons http://livesonline.rceng.ac.uk/biogs/e000898b.htm iv England & Wales marriages 1837-2001, Lewes, 1847, 3 rd quarter, volume 7, page 529 1861 census v See iii vi England & Wales births, Birmingham 1848, 3 rd quarter, volume XVI, page 334 vii viii 1851, 1861 census See iii ix Medical Register 1913 x Pall Mall Gazette, 18 th February 1878 England & Wales marriages 1837-2008, Aston, 1878, 4 th quarter, volume 6D, page 261 xi Pall Mall Gazette, 10 th January 1878 1881 census xii National Archives, Officers services WW1 personal files, Ref WO 339/22338 xiii England & Wales deaths 1837-2007, Kings Norton, 1881, 4 th quarter, 2C, 236 xiv Probate Calendars of England and Wales 1858-1959 xv 1891 census England and Wales deaths 1837-2007, East Preston, 1891, 4 th quarter, 2B, 229 xvi England & Wales births 1937-2006 for 1882, 1883 and 1895 xvii 1891 census xviii Moseley B13 Magazine, May 2016, 15

xix Trinity College, Cambridge, Roll of Honour http://trinitycollegechapel.com/media/filestore/general-documents/rollofhonour WW1.pdf xx London Gazette, 19 th May 1905, Issue 27796, page 3605 xxi See xix xxii London Gazette, 6 th October 1908, Issue 28183, page 7231 xxiii London Gazette, 16 th February, 1915, Issue 29070, page 1558 xxiv xxv xxvi Royal Welsh Fusiliers, 10 th Battalion in the Great War http://www.wartimememoriesproject.com/greatwar/allied/alliedarmyview.php?pid=7379 See xii War Diary of the 10 th Battalion Royal Wesh Fusiliers, 1 st September 1915 to 28 th February 1918, National Archives, Ref WO 95/143612, p 50 xxvii See xxvi, pp 61-70 xxviii Commonwealth War Graves Commission. Illustrations and Maps Figure 1 The Old Square, Birmingham, 1897 https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/file:%27the_old_square%27,_birmingha m.jpg Figure 2 Figure 3 Figure 4 Figure 5 Figure 6 Figure 7 Fivelands, from the Moseley Society History Group archive http://moseley-society.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/fivelands- HOUSE.pdf St Bartholomew s Church, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/st_bartholomew%e2%80%99s_church,_birmingham Merchiston Castle School, Edinburgh. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/merchiston_castle_school Bradfield College https://www.linkedin.com/company/bradfield-college-enterprises-ltd Captain H P Blake, Courtesy of Malvern College Hospital ship SS Copenhagen https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ss_copenhagen_(1907)

Figure 8 Figure 9 Map of the Battle for Deville Wood https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/20/delville_wood_18_20_j uly_1916.png Street layout of Deville Wood Deville wood map http://www.delvillewood.com/bataille2.htm Figure 10 Painting of the Battle for Deville Wood Ed. H.W. Wilson - Official British Military drawing. First published in "The Great War" Ed. H.W. Wilson, 1917