Frank Gerald Blaker VC MC (8 May 1920 – 9 July 1944) was a British-Indian recipient of the

Victoria Cross The Victoria Cross (VC) is the highest and most prestigious decoration of the Orders, decorations, and medals of the United Kingdom, British decorations system. It is awarded for valour "in the presence of the enemy" to members of the British ...

, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

and

Commonwealth A commonwealth is a traditional English term for a political community founded for the common good. The noun "commonwealth", meaning "public welfare, general good or advantage", dates from the 15th century. Originally a phrase (the common-wealth ...

forces.

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Born in

Kasauli Kasauli is a town and cantonment, located in the Solan district of the Indian state of Himachal Pradesh. The cantonment was established by the British Raj in 1842 as a Colonial hill station,Sharma, Ambika"Architecture of Kasauli churches" ''The ...

Punjab Punjab (; ; also romanised as Panjāb or Panj-Āb) is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia. It is located in the northwestern part of the Indian subcontinent, comprising areas of modern-day eastern Pakistan and no ...

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

, Blaker was educated at the

St. Paul's School, Darjeeling St. Paul's School is a private boarding school for boys in the town of Darjeeling, West Bengal, India. It is known as "Eton of the East" because it is thought to follow the similar cultural and traditional values of Eton College. St. Paul's is ...

. Blaker was 24 years old, and a temporary

Major Major most commonly refers to: * Major (rank), a military rank * Academic major, an academic discipline to which an undergraduate student formally commits * People named Major, including given names, surnames, nicknames * Major and minor in musi ...

in the

Highland Light Infantry The Highland Light Infantry (HLI) was a light infantry regiment of the British Army formed in 1881. It took part in the First World War, First and World War II, Second World Wars, until it was amalgamated with the Royal Scots Fusiliers in 1959 t ...

British Army The British Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of the United Kingdom. the British Army comprises 73,847 regular full-time personnel, 4,127 Brigade of Gurkhas, Gurkhas, 25,742 Army Reserve (United Kingdom), volunteer reserve perso ...

, attached to 3rd Battalion,

9th Gurkha Rifles The 9th Gorkha Rifles is a Gorkha infantry regiment of the Indian Army and, previously, the British Army. The regiment was initially formed by the British in 1817, and was one of the Gurkha regiments transferred to the Indian Army after independ ...

, the

khas Khas peoples or Khas Tribes, (; ) popularly known as Khashiya are an Indo-Aryan ethno-linguistic group native to the Himalayan region of the Indian subcontinent, in what is now the South Asian country of Nepal, as well as the Indian stat ...

battalion in the

Indian Army during World War II The Indian Army during World War II, a British force also referred to as the British Indian Army, began the war, in 1939, numbering just under 200,000 men.Sumner, p.25 By the end of the war, it had become the largest volunteer army in history, ...

when the following deed took place for which he was awarded the VC. :In

Burma Myanmar, officially the Republic of the Union of Myanmar; and also referred to as Burma (the official English name until 1989), is a country in northwest Southeast Asia. It is the largest country by area in Mainland Southeast Asia and ha ...

on 9th July, 1944, a Company of the 9th Gurkha Rifles was ordered to carry out a wide, encircling movement across unknown and precipitous country, through dense jungle, to attack a strong enemy position on the summit of an important hill overlooking Taungni. Major Blaker carried out this movement with the utmost precision and took up a position with his Company on the extreme right flank of the enemy, in itself a feat of considerable military skill. :Another Company, after bitter fighting, had succeeded in taking the forward edge of the enemy position by a frontal assault, but had failed to reach the main crest of the hill in the face of fierce opposition. At this crucial moment Major Blaker's Company came under heavy and accurate fire at close range from a medium machine gun and two light machine guns, and their advance was also completely stopped. :Major Blaker then advanced ahead of his men through very heavy fire and, in spite of being severely wounded in the arm by a grenade, he located the machine guns, which were the pivot of the enemy defence, and single handed charged the position. When hit by a burst of three rounds through the body, he continued to cheer on his men while lying on the ground. His fearless leadership and outstanding courage so inspired his Company that they stormed the Hill and captured the objective, while the enemy fled in terror into the jungle. :Major Blaker died of wounds while being evacuated from the battlefield. His heroism and self sacrifice were beyond all praise and contributed in no small way to the defeat of the enemy and the successful outcome of the operations.

John Masters Lieutenant Colonel John Masters, DSO, OBE (26 October 1914 – 7 May 1983) was a British novelist and regular officer of the British Indian Army. In World War II, he served with the Chindits behind enemy lines in Burma, and became the GSO1 ...

, the author, was Blaker's brigade commander. Writing 16 years later, he describes how the brigade was climbing a ridge with great difficulty to take a hill called Point 2171 from a determined and well-led force of Japanese. He resolved to send a force up a neighbouring ridge and required the battalion commander to send his best officer to lead the attack. Both commanders agreed that the best man was Blaker. Next morning he saw off the company and "told Blaker to make bloody sure he was on the right ridge and that he got to the top. Then tried to smile. Blaker really did smile, saw it in the radio light". By this time the whole brigade was nearly exhausted. Moving and climbing in the jungle was very difficult. "It took Jim Blaker an hour and a half to reach the foot of his ridge. Nearly five hours to climb up it. This for a mile and a half without opposition. Near the top he saw that the crest and northern flank of Point 2171 were strongly defended by automatics, woodpecker machine guns and mortars. After sending his message to me and waiting for the covering bombardment, Jim ordered the charge. His leading men came under machine guns firing directly down the ridge. They dived into the dense jungle, tried to crawl up on hands and knees. Men fell, the advance stopped. Jim went forward alone then, firing his carbine, calling 'Come on "C" Company'. Seven machine gun bullets through the stomach. He sank down, against a tree, turned his head, 'Come on "C" Company, I'm going to die. Take the position'. The Gurkhas swept on and up. Bayonets. ''Ayo Gurkhali'', the Gurkhas have come! That night I wrote out the citation for Blaker's Victoria Cross, which was immediately awarded, posthumously". Blaker died as a result of the wounds he received in this action. His grave is located in the

Taukkyan War Cemetery The Taukkyan War Cemetery () is a cemetery for Allied soldiers from the British Commonwealth who died in battle in Burma during the Second World War. The cemetery is in the village of Taukkyan, about north of Yangon on Pyay Road. It is maintaine ...

, 20 miles north of Rangoon (now Yangon), Burma (now Myanmar). It is located in Plot VI, Row E, Grave 2.Se
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British VCs of World War 2 The Victoria Cross (VC) is a military decoration awarded for valour "in the face of the enemy" to members of armed forces of some Commonwealth countries and previous British Empire territories. It takes precedence over all other Orders, decorati ...

(John Laffin, 1997) *

Monuments to Courage David Charles Harvey (29 July 1946 – 4 March 2004) was a British historian and author. He is notable for his seminal work, ''Monuments To Courage'', which documents the graves of almost all recipients of the Victoria Cross, a task that took ...

(David Harvey, 1999) *

The Register of the Victoria Cross ''The Register of the Victoria Cross'' is a reference work that provides brief information on every Victoria Cross awarded until the publication date. Each entry provides a summary of the deed, along with a photograph of the recipient and the f ...

(This England, 1997) {{DEFAULTSORT:Blaker, Frank Gerald 1920 births 1944 deaths Indian World War II recipients of the Victoria Cross Highland Light Infantry officers British World War II recipients of the Victoria Cross Recipients of the Military Cross British Army personnel killed in World War II People from Kasauli Royal Gurkha Rifles officers Indian Army personnel killed in World War II Burials at Taukkyan War Cemetery

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