Major William Anderson BloomfieldVC (30 January 1873 – 12 May 1954) was a Scottish recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces.
He was Initiated into Freemasonry in Concordia Lodge, No. 2685, (E.C.) (Ermelo, Mpumalanga Province, Republic of South Africa) on 18 June, Passed on 16 July and Raised on 16 July 1904.[2]
Victoria Crossedit
He was 43 years old, and a captain in the Scout Corps, 2nd South African Mounted Brigade, South African Forces during the First World War when the following deed took place for which he was awarded the VC.
On 24 August 1916 at Mlali, Tanganyika (now Tanzania), when consolidating his new position after being heavily attacked and being forced to retire,[3] Captain Bloomfield found that one of the wounded – a corporal – had not been evacuated with the rest. At considerable personal risk the captain went back over 400 yards of ground swept by machine-gun and rifle fire and managed to reach the wounded man and bring him back to safety.[4]
Whilst he was Scottish-born, he is also considered a South African as he emigrated there. Bloomfield later achieved the rank of major. He is buried in the cemetery in Ermelo, Mpumalanga, South Africa.
william, bloomfield, major, william, anderson, bloomfield, january, 1873, 1954, scottish, recipient, victoria, cross, highest, most, prestigious, award, gallantry, face, enemy, that, awarded, british, commonwealth, forces, william, anderson, bloomfieldborn30, . Major William Anderson Bloomfield VC 30 January 1873 12 May 1954 was a Scottish recipient of the Victoria Cross the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces William Anderson BloomfieldBorn30 January 1873Edinburgh Scotland UKDied12 May 1954 1954 05 12 aged 81 Ermelo Mpumalanga South AfricaBuriedErmelo CemeteryAllegiance Union of South AfricaService wbr branchSouth African ForcesRankMajorBattles warsWorld War I East African Campaign Battle of MlaliAwardsVictoria CrossPavement plaque to William Bloomfield VC Union Canal EdinburghHe was born in Edinburgh Scotland UK His parents emigrated to South Africa in 1878 1 Contents 1 Freemasonry 2 Victoria Cross 3 Recognition 4 Bibliography 5 References 6 External linksFreemasonry editHe was Initiated into Freemasonry in Concordia Lodge No 2685 E C Ermelo Mpumalanga Province Republic of South Africa on 18 June Passed on 16 July and Raised on 16 July 1904 2 Victoria Cross editHe was 43 years old and a captain in the Scout Corps 2nd South African Mounted Brigade South African Forces during the First World War when the following deed took place for which he was awarded the VC On 24 August 1916 at Mlali Tanganyika now Tanzania when consolidating his new position after being heavily attacked and being forced to retire 3 Captain Bloomfield found that one of the wounded a corporal had not been evacuated with the rest At considerable personal risk the captain went back over 400 yards of ground swept by machine gun and rifle fire and managed to reach the wounded man and bring him back to safety 4 Whilst he was Scottish born he is also considered a South African as he emigrated there Bloomfield later achieved the rank of major He is buried in the cemetery in Ermelo Mpumalanga South Africa His Victoria Cross was displayed at the National Museum of Military History in Johannesburg and is now kept by his family Recognition editA pavement plaque to Bloomfield was added on the side of the Union Canal near the new Boroughmuir High School in 2020 Bibliography editGliddon Gerald 2005 The Sideshows VCs of the First World War Gloucestershire England Sutton Publishing ISBN 978 0 7509 2084 1 References edit William Anderson Bloomfield Victoria Cross winner during WW1 is born in Edinburgh Scotland His parents came to South Africa South African History Online Archived from the original on 4 March 2016 Retrieved 19 October 2012 The Great War 1914 1918 Victoria Cross Freemasons Granville Angell 2014 pp 77 82 ISBN 978 0 9563661 7 7 The Soldier s Burden No 29885 The London Gazette Supplement 29 December 1916 pp 12735 12736 Monuments to Courage David Harvey 1999 The Register of the Victoria Cross This England 1997 Scotland s Forgotten Valour Graham Ross 1995 External links editAccount of the VC action Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title William Bloomfield amp oldid 1182446728, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
