Major William Anderson Bloomfield VC (30 January 1873 – 12 May 1954) was a Scottish recipient of the

Victoria Cross The Victoria Cross (VC) is the highest and most prestigious award of the British honours system. It is awarded for valour "in the presence of the enemy" to members of the British Armed Forces and may be awarded posthumously. It was previously ...

, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

and Commonwealth forces. He was born in Edinburgh, Scotland, UK. His parents emigrated to South Africa in 1878.

Freemasonry

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.

Victoria Cross

He was 43 years old, and a captain in the Scout Corps, 2nd South African Mounted Brigade,

South African Forces The South African National Defence Force (SANDF) comprises the armed forces of South Africa. The commander of the SANDF is appointed by the President of South Africa from one of the armed services. They are in turn accountable to the Minister ...

during the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

when the following deed took place for which he was awarded the VC. On 24 August 1916 at Mlali, Tanganyika (now

Tanzania Tanzania (; ), officially the United Republic of Tanzania ( sw, Jamhuri ya Muungano wa Tanzania), is a country in East Africa within the African Great Lakes region. It borders Uganda to the north; Kenya to the northeast; Comoro Islands ...

), when consolidating his new position after being heavily attacked and being forced to retire, 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. 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 Ermelo () is the educational, industrial and commercial town of the 7,750 km2 Gert Sibande District Municipality in Mpumalanga province, Republic of South Africa. It is both a mixed agriculture and mining region. It is located 210 km eas ...

, South Africa. His Victoria Cross was displayed at the National Museum of Military History in

Johannesburg Johannesburg ( , , ; Zulu and xh, eGoli ), colloquially known as Jozi, Joburg, or "The City of Gold", is the largest city in South Africa, classified as a megacity, and is one of the 100 largest urban areas in the world. According to Dem ...

and is now kept by his family.

Recognition

A pavement plaque to Bloomfield was added on the side of the Union Canal near the new Boroughmuir High School in 2020.

Bibliography

References

Monuments to Courage David Charles Harvey (29 July 1946 – 4 March 2004) was a historian and author. He is notable for his seminal work, ''Monuments To Courage'', which documents the graves of almost all recipients of the Victoria Cross, a task that took him over 3 ...

(David Harvey, 1999) *

The Register of the Victoria Cross ''The Register of the Victoria Cross'' is a reference work that provides brief information on every Victoria Cross awarded until the publication date. Each entry provides a summary of the deed, along with a photograph of the recipient and the fo ...

(This England, 1997) *

Scotland's Forgotten Valour ''Scotland's Forgotten Valour'' is a 1995 book by Graham Ross, published by MacLean Press under . (The typography of the title on the book uses capitalisation to contrast emphasis ("SCOTLAND'S FORgotten VALOUR"), to communicate additional meanin ...

(Graham Ross, 1995)

External links

Account of the VC action
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bloomfield, William Anderson 1873 births 1954 deaths British World War I recipients of the Victoria Cross South African Army officers Military personnel from Edinburgh Scottish emigrants to South Africa South African World War I recipients of the Victoria Cross