On Monday 26th April, at our ANZAC Day service we recognised the 100th anniversary of the Royal Australian Air Force. An Old Boy of ours, Major David Valentine Blake, was a pioneering aviator and commanding officer of the Australian Flying Corp No. 3 Squadron. The forerunner of the RAAF.
The No.3 Squadron was operating on the Western Front when the Red Baron was shot down. As the senior commanding air squadron officer in that zone, Blake was responsible for the burial of the Red Baron. Despite being an enemy of the Allies, the Red Baron received a full military honours funeral, which was coordinated by Major Blake.
Blake attended the school in the late 1890s and early 1900s.