Born in
1845, Sir Ernest Edward Blake was a
Colonial Office official from
1863 to 1908. In
1863, Blake began as an assistant junior clerk. Amongst many of his duties as a clerk, Blake wrote the Colonial Office minutes for
many despatches between colonial officials such as
Governor Seymour and
Sir Anthony Musgrave. In
1874, Blake became the private secretary to the Secretary of State, John Woodehose, the
1st Earl of Kimberly. In
1879, he became a first-class clerk, and subsequently was promoted as the head of the
general department in the Colonial Office. In
1901, he became a senior agent of the Colonial Office and subsequently was knighted under
the Order of St. Michael and St. George. However, in
1908, Blake resigned from the Colonial Office due to ongoing criticism of
his autocratic management style
in his department and the Colonial Office as a whole. He was married to Catherine Isabella, daughter of a London shipping engineer, and
had two children with her. In
1920, Blake passed away due to a heart attack.