Holy Trinity Anglican Church at Ararat was a substantial building with many fine windows when it was gutted by fire in January 1940. The parishioners and townsfolk rallied to rebuild and, in less than a year, the church was consecrated by Bishop William Johnson in December 1940. Mathieson & Gibson designed and made a version of their popular cartoon, St. Michael, filling the cusped head of the tall light with the badge of the Air Force and adding the Anchor of Hope to the base panel.
Alfred Henry Blake, a clerk with the rolling stock branch of the Victorian Railways, enlisted in the RAAF on 14 September 1940. He listed his father, Mr. AJ Blake of 26 High Street, Ararat, as his next of kin. After completing his advanced training in Canada he became a Spitfire fighter pilot in England before returning with the first Australian Spitfire squadron in August 1940. Based in Darwin with 457 Squadron he was pilot of one of eight aircraft operating in the Millingimbi, detailed to intercept enemy aircraft. Flying Officer Blake and his crew, Flying Officer Francis Beale, in Spitfire AR526 did not return from a mission and were reported missing. Despite exhaustive searches in the area no further evidence of the men or their aircraft was sighted. A subsequent enquiry concluded that the men lost their lives 'as a result of air operations' on 28 May 1943. Flying Officer Blake had been married only a few weeks earlier to Lesley Francis Sittlington of Caulfield.
References & Acknowledgements
AWM Roll of Honour; NAA: A605, 166/5/175; Argus, 4 January 1940, p.2; 8 June 1943, p.10; 23 September 1943, p.7;
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