Medal of Bravery

• Awarded on: December 20, 1974
• Invested on: April 03, 1975

In July, 1974, when the conflict on Cyprus was most intense, Cpt. Blaquière was constantly at the scene of the heaviest firing, establishing the UN presence and attempting to restore peace. On July 15, when the tank fire was falling in the Turkish enclave, he drew his UN jeep across the tank's line of fire and effectively prevented further destruction and possible loss of life. On July 23, he organized the evacuation of a number of combatant troops who had moved into the UN compound and thus prevented an exchange of fire which would undoubtedly have resulted in casualties among the Canadian contingent. In the course of the evacuation the group came under machine gun fire and several of the combatants were killed and wounded. During this perilous action, Cpt. Blaquière sustained wounds.