Ernest William Blake
Memorial: Staple Hill - Page Park
Regiment: Dorsetshire Regiment
Medals: 1939–45 Star, War Medal 1939–1945
Rank and number: Private
Parents: Ernest and Mabel Lilian Blake
Marital status: Married
Home address: Downend, Bristol
Pre-war occupation: Bricklayer
Date of birth: 22/03/1920
Date of death: 01/05/1944
Buried/Commemorated at: Buried Kohima War Cemetery India and commemorated Staple Hill Memorial
Age: 24
Further information:
Ernest died during the battle of Kohima (Burma Campaign) probably in the course of fierce hand to hand fighting which took place over several weeks at the District Commissioner's Bungalow in Kohima. It became known as 'The Battle of the tennis court'. Kohima and a small regiment of the West Kents were initially besieged. The Dorsets were part of the 2nd Division which relieved the siege and went on to win the battle marking a turning point in the war against the Japanese by halting their advance into India. The Japanese withdrew on June 3rd having lost 30 thousand of 65 thousand men in the first defeat of imperial army.
By kind permission, this information is based on the following source(s):
This information has been provided by Sarah Hands, Volunteer Researcher for the South Gloucestershire War Memorials Web Site.
By kind permission, this information is based on the following source(s):
https://www.cwgc.org/
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Kohima
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_the_Tennis_Court
https://www.forces-war-records.co.uk/