Soldier. Born Alfred George Blake in Stepney. As a corporal in the 8th battalion of the Rifle Brigade he was in a patrol reconnoitring the German lines near La Brique, France. The group was spotted by the enemy and came under heavy fire. Two of the group managed to escape, but Drake remained to bandage the wounds of his officer. Later a rescue party found the officer unconscious and alive, but Drake had been shot dead. For his actions in saving the life of his officer, he was awarded the Victoria Cross medal.
There is also a memorial sculpture to him in nearby Ben Jonson School, which he attended as a child.
From East London Advertiser: "Children at Ben Jonson Primary discover First World War VC hero Alfred Drake was a pupil at their school. .. He was born December 10, 1893, to a family in Sidmore Street with three sisters .... He finally left school at 14 when he joined his father in 1907 to work in the London Docks. Alfie was 20 when war broke out and he signed up to serve in the 8th Battalion Riffle Brigade, not married but had a fiancée..... The school commissioned a memorial installation by Bow Arts—a circle of vertical mirrors with a plaque that reads: “In memory of Alfred George Drake, VC, for Valour.”"
Credit for this entry to: Alan Patient of www.plaquesoflondon.co.uk
