William Swanson Read Bloomfield
Born 1885 - Died 1 Dec 1969
- Service number
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- Also known as
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- Last rank
- WW1 Flight Commander/Military AWMM
- War
- World War I, 1914-1918 AWMM
About
- Title
- Flight CommanderPublic - Lorraine M - Researcher - 14 January 2016 - Military record
- Forenames
- William Swanson Read AWMM
- Surname
- Bloomfield AWMM
- Ingoa
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- Also known as
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- Service number
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- Gender
- Male AWMM
- Iwi / Hapū / Waka / Rohe
- Religion
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Images
Documents
About birth
- Birth
- 1885 Public Source
- Date of birth
- 1885Public - Lorraine M - Researcher - 14 January 2016 - research
- Place of birth
- Gisborne, NZPublic - Lorraine M - Researcher - 14 January 2016 - research
- Birth notes
- son of Thomas Edward Read BLOOMFIELD & Mary nee' SWANSONPublic - Lorraine M - Researcher - 14 January 2016 - research
- Address before enlistment
- WW1 Gisborne AWMM
- Post war occupation
- ArchitectPublic - Lorraine M - Researcher - 14 January 2016 - research
- Next of kin
- father: T E R BloomfieldPublic - Lorraine M - Researcher - 14 January 2016 - research
- Relationship status
- single
1920 married Rhoda Audrey Swift CRIBBINPublic - Lorraine M - Researcher - 14 January 2016 - research
Wars and conflicts
- War
- World War I, 1914-1918 AWMM
- Campaign
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- Service number
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- Military service
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- Promotions/ Postings/ Transfers
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Military decorations
- Medals and Awards
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Training and Enlistment
- Military training
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- Branch Trade Proficiency
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- Enlistment
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- Age on enlistment
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- Occupation before enlistment
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Embarkations
- Embarkation details
- WW1 Captain/Military AWMM Royal Flying Corps AWMM
Prisoner of war
- Capture details
- WW1 POW - Holzminden, Holzminden, Lower Saxony, Germany AWMM
Aug 1917? AWMM
Offizier Gefangenelager AWMM - 1st advised Apr 1917 - missing since Mar 1917Public - Lorraine M - Researcher - 14 January 2016 - Newspaper Reports
- WW1 POW - Holzminden, Holzminden, Lower Saxony, Germany AWMM
- Days interned
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- Liberation date
- 1919Public - Lorraine M - Researcher - 14 January 2016 - Newspaper Reports
- POW liberation details
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- Liberation Repatriation
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- POW serial number
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Medical history
- Medical notes
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Last known rank
- Last rank
- WW1 Flight Commander/Military AWMM
- Last rank
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Biographical information
- A Captain in the Royal Flying Corps, 57 Squadron
In 1926 he was involved as a member of the Building Committee for St Augustine's Church, Calliope Road, Devonport AWMM - Mar 1916 - Mrs Bloomfield has received a cable from the Secretary of tho British War Office, stating that her son, Lieut. W. S. R. Bloomfield, of the Royal Flying Corps, was admitted to the Bed Cross Hospital, Rouen, on March 3, with a gunshot wound on the knee (slight). Flying-Lieutenant Bloomfield had gone to England to study architecture, and when war broke out he was about to sit first final examination. On the outbreak of hostilities he joined the aviation department and made such good progress that he received promotion, and, as stated, now occupies the rank of lieutenant. He is a brother of Mrs Harold Bright.Public - Lorraine M - Researcher - 14 January 2016 - Poverty Bay Herald, Volume XLIII, Issue 13934, 6 March 1916, Page
- William Swanson Read Bloomfield, was the first known qualified architect practicing in New Zealand of Maori descent. He was the grandson of William Swanson and Ani Rangitunoa. Born in Gisborne, he studied in England, on the European Continent, and also the University of Pennsylvania, USA. During World War I he served as Captain in the Royal Flying Corps, 57 Squadron, and was shot down behind enemy lines in 1917, serving time as a prisoner of war in Germany until the end of hostilities. In November 1929, he married Rhoda Gribbin at Holy Trinity Church in Devonport. During the 1920s, he became a foundation member of the Auckland Aero Club.
He practiced in Auckland from the mid 1920s until his retirement in 1959, either in sole practice or with a number of partnerships.
In 1954, Home & Building published a brief biography on Bloomfield, in which it was stated he was “interested in early English and Chinese china, old Italian bronzes, and water colours.” An undated thesis of his still survives in the School of Architecture records: at the University of Auckland “The Structural Development of the Early Christian Basilica to Amiens Cathedral”.
His ashes were interned at Purewa Cemetery in 1969Public - Lorraine M - Researcher - 14 January 2016 - http://timespanner.blogspot.co.nz/2010/06/timespanner-visits-titirangi-village.html
- A Captain in the Royal Flying Corps, 57 Squadron
About death
- Death
- 1 Dec 1969 Public Source
- Date of death
- Dec 1969Public - Lorraine M - Researcher - 14 January 2016 - BMD NZ & Purewa Cemetery records
- Age at death
- 84yrsPublic - Lorraine M - Researcher - 14 January 2016 - BMD NZ & Purewa Cemetery records
- Place of death
- AucklandPublic - Lorraine M - Researcher - 14 January 2016 - BMD NZ & Purewa Cemetery records
- Cause of death
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- Death notes
- William Swanson Read Bloomfield died in 1969 aged 84yrs. He was cremated and his ashes were interned at the Purewa Cemetery, AucklandPublic - Lorraine M - Researcher - 14 January 2016 - BMD NZ & Purewa Cemetery records
- Cemetery
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- Cemetery name
- Purewa Cemetery, AucklandPublic - Lorraine M - Researcher - 14 January 2016 - BMD NZ & Purewa Cemetery records
- Grave reference
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- Obituary
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- Memorial reference
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Memorial
- Memorial name
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Sources
- External links
- Base records file
https://collections.archives.govt.nz/web/arena/search/#/entity/aims-archive/R20799088
Further Reference - Base records file
https://collections.archives.govt.nz/web/arena/search/#/entity/aims-archive/R20799088
Further Reference - Cowan, J. (1926). The Maoris in the Great War. Auckland, N.Z.: Maori Regimental Committee by Whitcombe & Tombs.
https://ndhadeliver.natlib.govt.nz/webarchive/20201108000000/https://nzetc.victoria.ac.nz/tm/scholarly/tei-CowMaor.html
Further Reference
- Base records file
- References
- Cook, J. (2013). The real great escape: the story of the First World War's most daring mass breakout. North Sydney, New South Wales, Australia: Vintage.
- Chronicles of the N.Z.E.F.: Records of Matters Concerning the Troops and Gazette of Patriotic Effort [London, England] : New Zealand War Contingent Association, [1916-1919]
Chronicles of the NZEF October 1917, 1917 - New Zealand High Commission (Great Britain). (1917). A short sketch of the work of the New Zealand Prisoners of War Department in London and of other undertakings connected with the war. London, England: High Commissioner for New Zealand.
p.39 - Harper, G., Clements, C., & Johns., R. (2019). For King and Other Countries: The New Zealanders Who Fought in Other Services in the First World War. Auckland, New Zealand: Massey University Press.
- Cowan, J. (1926). The Maoris in the Great War. Auckland, N.Z.: Maori Regimental Committee by Whitcombe & Tombs.
- Soutar, M. (2019). Whitiki! Whiti! Whiti! E!: Maori In the First World War. New Zealand: David Bateman Ltd.
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