Stained Glass Window at Ararat Holy Trinity Anglican Church

49 High Street, Ararat, ARARAT RURAL CITY

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Vic. War Heritage Inventory

Ararat Holy Trinity Anglican Church, St Michael, Mathieson & Gibson

Statement of Significance

• Other Records For This Place
  • Stained Glass Window at Ararat Holy Trinity Anglican Church - Vic. War Heritage Inventory
  • Stained Glass Window at Ararat Holy Trinity Anglican Church - Vic. War Heritage Inventory
• Additional Place Information

  • Memorial Window References & Acknowledgements

    Stained Glass Window at Ararat Holy Trinity Anglican Church - Memorial Window 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;

    Memorial Window Subject

    Stained Glass Window at Ararat Holy Trinity Anglican Church - Memorial Window Subject

    St. Michael

    Memorial Window Text

    Stained Glass Window at Ararat Holy Trinity Anglican Church - Memorial Window Text

    Saint Michael

    Memorial Window Inscription

    Stained Glass Window at Ararat Holy Trinity Anglican Church - Memorial Window Inscription

    In loving memory of Alfred Henry Blake Flying Officer R.A.A.F. who gave his life for his King and Country in the War of 1939-1945 Erected by the Blake family and his widow

    Memorial Window Description & History

    Stained Glass Window at Ararat Holy Trinity Anglican Church - Memorial Window Description & History

    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.

    Heritage Study and Grading

    Heritage Study and Grading

    Vic War Heritage Inventory - Stained Glass Memorial Windows Study

    Author: Bronwyn Hughes
    Year: 2013
    Grading: Local

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