William J. Blake

London Regiment (Queen’s Westminster Rifles)

William Blake lived at 19 Oaks Road, Sanderstead and was a student at Alleyn’s until 1904. He joined the war effort as part of the London Regiment (Queen’s Westminster Rifles) and served on the Eastern Front in Jerusalem. In April 1917, the operations against the Ottoman forces near Jerusalem had deteriorated into a stalemate. With neither side able to force the other to withdraw, troops endured a six month standoff where they faced tough conditions, sporadic rifle fire and shelling. It was during this standoff that William was killed while serving with his battalion on September 29^th 1917. He is buried in the Jerusalem War cemetery.