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Auction: 21002 - Orders, Decorations and Medals
Lot: 188

Three: Able Seaman E. C. Bloomfield, Royal Navy, an early member of the 'Silent Service'

1914-15 Star (J.34862 E. G. Bloomfield. Boy.1. R.N.); British War and Victory Medals (J.34865 E. G. Bloomfield. A.B. R.N.), mounted as worn, polished, fine (3)

Ernest Christian Bloomfield was born on 14 April 1898 at Woking, Surrey and was a milk boy upon his joining the Royal Navy on 24 February 1915. Having trained in Powerful, he served aboard Minerva from 18 June 1915-31 December 1917, which would have seen Bloomfield serve off Gallipoli during the operations at Suvla Bay in August 1915. Having finished the Great War aboard Viking, Bloomfield served aboard the submarine M-1 from 9 February 1922-15 November 1924. Having been launched on 9 July 1917, M-1 was fitted with a 12" gun, normally fired using a simple bead sight at periscope depth with only the barrel above the waterline. Despite this novel fitting, it resulted in damage to the muzzle when it was fired in 1923, as a result of water leaking into the barrel. Bloomfield purchased his discharge - at cost of £24 - on 15 November 1924, joining the Royal Fleet Reserve. It seems a lucky escape, for M-1 sank with loss of 69 hands in the Channel, when she struck the Swedish Vidar just over a year later on 12 November 1925. A diving team led by Innes McCartney discovered her wreck in 1999 at a depth of 73 metres. Later that year, Richard Larn and a BBC TV documentary crew visited the wreck, and the resulting film was broadcast in March 2000. The discovery of the wreck showed the collision tore the gun from the hull and water flooded the interior through the open loading hole. Bloomfield's comrades appear to have tried to escape by flooding the interior and opening the escape hatch, but their bodies were never found.

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Sold for
£150

Starting price
£50