  John Blake (1947--2016) was a leader in fluid mechanics, his two principal
areas of expertise being biological fluid mechanics on microscopic scales and
bubble dynamics. He produced leading research and mentored others in both
Australia, his home country, and the UK, his adopted home. This article reviews
John Blake's contributions in biological fluid mechanics, as well as giving the
author's personal viewpoint as one of the many graduate students and
researchers who benefitted from his supervision, guidance and inspiration. The
key topics from biological mechanics discussed are: `squirmer' models of
protozoa, the method of images in Stokes flow and the `blakelet' solution,
discrete cilia modelling via slender body theory, physiological flows in
respiration and reproduction, blinking stokeslets in microorganism feeding,
human sperm motility, and embryonic nodal cilia.
