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, 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, South Africa. His Victoria Cross was displayed at the
National Museum of Military History in
Johannesburg and is now kept by his family. ==Recognition==