Roy William Blake (7 March 1906 – 11 July 1994) was a

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

diplomat A diplomat (from grc, δίπλωμα; romanized ''diploma'') is a person appointed by a state or an intergovernmental institution such as the United Nations or the European Union to conduct diplomacy with one or more other states or internati ...

. Born near

London, Ontario London (pronounced ) is a city in southwestern Ontario, Canada, along the Quebec City–Windsor Corridor. The city had a population of 422,324 according to the 2021 Canadian census. London is at the confluence of the Thames River, approximat ...

, Blake was a graduate of the

University of Saskatchewan A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase ''universitas magistrorum et scholarium'', which ...

. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

Blake served as a captain in the

Saskatoon Light Infantry The Saskatoon Light Infantry was an infantry regiment of the Non-Permanent Active Militia of the Canadian Militia (now the Canadian Army). The regiment was formed in 1924, when The North Saskatchewan Regiment (1920–1924) was reorganized into f ...

. While serving in Italy he suffered an injury which permanently crippled him. In 1954 Blake was the Canadian Trade Commissioner to Australia. That year, Blake, his wife, and their two sons embarked on a five-month world tour which was described as part business trip and part holiday. Blake toured industrial centres in Canada to discuss trade with Australia. Blake stayed in Australia until at least 1956 but by 1957 had moved to

Port of Spain, Trinidad Port of Spain (Spanish: ''Puerto España''), officially the City of Port of Spain (also stylized Port-of-Spain), is the capital of Trinidad and Tobago and the third largest municipality, after Chaguanas and San Fernando. The city has a municip ...

where he was Trade Commissioner to the Caribbean countries. That year Blake published a report in the Canadian ''Foreign Trade'' journal reporting that subsidised flour from the United States was hurting Canadian wheat and flour sales to that region. In 1960, as an assistant director of the Department of Trade and Commerce, Blake led a trade mission to Britain. Later, Blake and his family spent two and a half years in Kingston, Jamaica, where he was again commercial counselor. For some months in 1962 Blake was acting High Commissioner to Jamaica until he was replaced by the permanent appointee to that post, Graham Campbell McInnes. In 1964 Blake was appointed

Consul General A consul is an official representative of the government of one state in the territory of another, normally acting to assist and protect the citizens of the consul's own country, as well as to facilitate trade and friendship between the people ...

West Germany West Germany is the colloquial term used to indicate the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG; german: Bundesrepublik Deutschland , BRD) between its formation on 23 May 1949 and the German reunification through the accession of East Germany on 3 O ...

. From 1967 until 1969 Blake was Consul General to

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

References

1906 births 1994 deaths High commissioners of Canada to Jamaica University of Saskatchewan alumni {{Canada-diplomat-stub