Harry Dudfield (12 May 1912 – 19 July 1987) was a New Zealand politician of the

National Party National Party or Nationalist Party may refer to: Active parties * National Party of Australia, commonly known as ''The Nationals'' * Bangladesh: ** Bangladesh Nationalist Party ** Jatiya Party (Ershad) a.k.a. ''National Party (Ershad)'' * Californ ...

Biography

Dudfield was born in Gisborne in 1912. He worked for A. and T. Burt until World War II, when he became a soldier and served in the

Middle East The Middle East (term originally coined in English language) is a geopolitical region encompassing the Arabian Peninsula, the Levant, Turkey, Egypt, Iran, and Iraq. The term came into widespread usage by the United Kingdom and western Eur ...

, Italy and the Pacific. After the war, he worked for the Department of Health, first in

Auckland Auckland ( ; ) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. It has an urban population of about It is located in the greater Auckland Region, the area governed by Auckland Council, which includes outlying rural areas and ...

and then in

Tokomaru Bay Tokomaru Bay is a small beachside community on the remote Gisborne District, East Coast of New Zealand's North Island. It is 91 km north of Gisborne, New Zealand, Gisborne, on State Highway 35, and close to Mount Hikurangi (Gisborne), Moun ...

. As a New Zealand Army Captain with Kayforce, he led an advance party to the

Korean War The Korean War (25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953) was an armed conflict on the Korean Peninsula fought between North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea; DPRK) and South Korea (Republic of Korea; ROK) and their allies. North Korea was s ...

, but was withdrawn to contest the snap election for the electorate. He won the Gisborne electorate from Labour's

Reginald Keeling Reginald Alfred Keeling (15 January 1904 – 7 August 1991) was a New Zealand politician of the Labour Party. Biography Early life and career Keeling was born in 1904 in Fulham to Alfred J. Keeling. He was educated at Fulham Central Scho ...

in the 1951 election, but lost to Keeling in the next election in

1954 Events January * January 3 – The Italian broadcaster RAI officially begins transmitting. * January 7 – Georgetown–IBM experiment: The first public demonstration of a machine translation system is held in New York, at the head ...

. He told Parliament in 1952 that he doubted Communist claims that United Nations forces were using germ warfare in Korea. In 1953, Dudfield was awarded the

Queen Elizabeth II Coronation Medal The Queen Elizabeth II Coronation Medal () is a commemorative medal instituted to celebrate the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II on 2 June 1953. Award This medal was awarded as a personal souvenir from the Queen to members of the Royal Family ...

. After his time in Parliament, he worked as a health inspector in

Rotorua Rotorua () is a city in the Bay of Plenty region of New Zealand's North Island. It is sited on the southern shores of Lake Rotorua, from which it takes its name. It is the seat of the Rotorua Lakes District, a territorial authorities of New Zea ...

and then in Tawa. In 1955, he married Mona Lindsay at the Presbyterian Church in

St Albans St Albans () is a cathedral city in Hertfordshire, England, east of Hemel Hempstead and west of Hatfield, Hertfordshire, Hatfield, north-west of London, south-west of Welwyn Garden City and south-east of Luton. St Albans was the first major ...

Christchurch Christchurch (; ) is the largest city in the South Island and the List of cities in New Zealand, second-largest city by urban area population in New Zealand. Christchurch has an urban population of , and a metropolitan population of over hal ...

. Dudfield died on 19 July 1987 in Tawa, and his wife died on 14 November 2010.

Notes

References

* * 1912 births 1987 deaths New Zealand National Party MPs New Zealand military personnel of World War II New Zealand military personnel of the Korean War New Zealand Army officers People from Gisborne, New Zealand New Zealand MPs for North Island electorates Members of the New Zealand House of Representatives Unsuccessful candidates in the 1954 New Zealand general election Unsuccessful candidates in the 1949 New Zealand general election {{NewZealand-mil-bio-stub