Vice Admiral
Vice admiral is a senior naval flag officer rank, usually equivalent to lieutenant general and air marshal. A vice admiral is typically senior to a rear admiral and junior to an admiral.
Australia
In the Royal Australian Navy, the rank of Vice ...
Sir Geoffrey Blake, (16 September 1882 – 18 July 1968) was an officer in the
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...
Alverstoke
Alverstoke is a village in the borough of Gosport, on the south coast of Hampshire, England. It stretches east–west from Fort Blockhouse, Haslar to Browndown Battery, and is centred east of the shore of Stokes Bay and near the head of a cree ...
in
Hampshire
Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Berkshire to the north, Surrey and West Sussex to the east, the Isle of Wight across the Solent to the south, ...
, the son of Thomas Blake and Fanny Leatry. As a boy, he attended
Winchester College
Winchester College is an English Public school (United Kingdom), public school (a long-established fee-charging boarding school for pupils aged 13–18) with some provision for day school, day attendees, in Winchester, Hampshire, England. It wa ...
before entering the
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...
First World War
World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
and at the
Battle of Jutland
The Battle of Jutland () was a naval battle between Britain's Royal Navy Grand Fleet, under Admiral John Jellicoe, 1st Earl Jellicoe, Sir John Jellicoe, and the Imperial German Navy's High Seas Fleet, under Vice-Admiral Reinhard Scheer, durin ...
, as gunnery commander aboard .
In 1919, Blake was appointed naval attaché in Washington D. C., a position he held until 1921. He was then given command of , became Deputy Director of the Royal Navy Staff College in 1925 and was appointed director of the college in 1926. He was appointed Chief of Staff in the Atlantic Fleet in 1927 and First Member of the New Zealand Naval Board and Commodore commanding the New Zealand Division in 1929. He became Fourth Sea Lord and Chief of Supplies and Transport in 1932 and Vice Admiral commanding the Battlecruiser Squadron and second-in-command of the Mediterranean Fleet with his flag in in 1936.
Blake presided over the first board of enquiry into the sinking of ''Hood'' in 1941; the conduct of the inquiry was criticised as no verbatim record of witnesses' testimony was kept. A second inquiry was held, which came to the same conclusion although subsequently other theories have been advanced.
Blake also served in the
Second World War
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
as an Additional Assistant Chief of Naval Staff from 1940 and as Flag Officer, Liaison to the
United States Navy
The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...