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His AIF enlistment form or Attestation Papers indicated that he was 34
years old; 5 and a half feet (1.6 metres) high; and living in Redhead when
he enlisted. He had fair hair and complexion.
One physical feature I noticed throughout this study is the lack of height
of our soldiers compared to individuals today. So much for the tall
Australian World War 1 soldier.
He was enlisted as a sapper in the 2
nd
Tunnelling Coy or Company
Enoch was involved in training in Australia and embarked for Europe on
the transport ship the Ulysses on 23 October 1916. He arrived in
Plymouth, England on 23 December 1916 and went to France on 28
January 1917, but his service records show that he suffered a lot of illness,
particularly in 1918 when he spent 61 days in hospital.
A lot of the tunnelling companies did not experience the same casualty
rates as those AIF battalions who fought above ground and were often
exposed to direct fire. Many tunnelling companies comprised experienced
miners from Hunter Valley mines. John Laffin’s book analyses this
statistic very closely.
Also on the Redhead War Memorial is Joseph Redvers Grimwood, born
in Queensland in 1917. Joseph, Enoch’s nephew, was one of 2,000 allied
prisoners of war who died in the Sandakan Death March in World War 2.
Only six Prisoners of War (POWs) survived the Death March.
The reference below, combined with his service and medical records,
gives us a detailed history of Enoch’s war involvement. In particular, the
Finnish community seemed very proud of its wartime contributions in the
First World War. Enoch was obviously proud of his war service.
Enoch Bleck, now with his surname made more English with the addition
of a “c”, died in 1930 and is buried in the local Whitebridge Cemetery.
Following is his epitaph:
“ BLECK Enoch
5707 Sapper 2
nd
Tunnelling Company
Husband and Father
Died 2nd March 1930”
Reference: Olavi Koivukangas: Sea, Gold and Sugarcan Finns in
Australia 1851 – 1947 Page 185-186
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