SS River Clyde at Gallipoli

[Dinosaur]

I believe my grandfather served on the River Clyde at Gallipoli I believe he may have been in the Royal Artillery but am not absolutely sure of that ,and I do not have his service records,his name was Thomas John Bloomfield,any assistance in finding out if this was so would be appreciated.

[Richard1955]

Hi Dino
The CWGC website have:http://www.cwgc.org/search/SearchRes...x=41&send.y=15
But if you have date and place of birth and where living at the time of joining I'm sure we can do more for you.

[Coromandel]

Hello, Dinosaur, and welcome to the forum!

To help us spot the right Thomas Bloomfield, could you tell us a little more about your grandfather, such as his date and place of birth, and details of his next of kin (his wife if he had married before joining up, otherwise probably one of his parents). Do you know where he was living on the outbreak of war? Did he survive the war? Do you have any photos of him in uniform?

(Sorry for bombarding you with questions!)

If he was on the River Clyde, this website may help narrow down which regiment he would have been in:
www.
worldwar1.com/sfclyde.htm

[Dinosaur]

Hi Richard 1955,

Thanks for your prompt response My Grandfather Thomas John Bloomfield was born in Ipswich Suffolk in 1874 and lived in Stratford or Forest Gate London at either Hartland St Stratford or Ham Park Rd Forest Gate at the time of joining.He passed away at Hotham St Stratford 28th Aug 1951 aged 77 yrs.The reference to the River Clyde was only hearsay from my point of view I was 9 yrs old when he passed away.He may have been discharged from the services as he became profoundly deaf as a result of the war,He may have been in the Royal Artillery (Naval Division).

Thanks for your help.

[Dinosaur]

Hi Coromandel,

My Grandfather Thomas John Bloomfield was born in Ipswich Suffolk in 1874 to Thomas Bloomfield & Maria Steggold he married my Grandmother Sophia Elizabeth ( Nee Dawson who was also born in 1874) in West Ham London in 1898.They May have been living in Hartland St Stratford or Ham Park Rd Forest Gate at the outbreak of war.

He survived the war although profoundly deaf ( he may actually been discharged because of it)

We have no photo's of him in uniform but service in the Royal Artillery runs in the family as does the sea.

The reference to the SS River Clyde to my mind hearsay but I believe there may have been a Naval Division of the Royal Artillery.

He did have Campaign Medals for WW1 but no exceptional awards.

He Passed Away in 1951 aged 77.

Many thanks

[Peter Goodey]

He did have Campaign Medals for WW1 but no exceptional awards.

This may be important. Please provide details. Where did you get this information from? Did you get it from the Army medal Index cards? What precisely is shown?

[Coromandel]

I started looking at medal roll index cards yesterday and trying to find out more about the various T Bloomfields there.

We can rule out these three, who are listed on CWGC, since we know your Thomas survived the war:
G/20806 Pte Thomas Bloomfield, Middlesex Regt, died 23 Aug 1918
861 Serjeant T Bloomfield, Queen's Regt, died 30 March 1916
22840 Pte T J Bloomfield, Suffolk Regt, died 15 May 1916 (son of Mr and Mrs Amos Bloomfield of Wetherden)

Another one who can't be your Thomas is Thomas Bloomfield, Gunner, RGA (sorry, I failed to copy his service number): army papers on Ancestry show he married Sophia Mary Neal in Orsett, 1916, and if I've found the right chap on the 1911 census it shows his middle name, which wasn't John).

There is a medal roll index card for a Pte Thomas J. Bloomfield (with two numbers, 8626 2nd West Yorks Regt and 3981 R. Fus.) showing his entitlement to the Victory medal and 1914 Star, with an added reference to a clasp (qualifying date 5/11/14, reference (from medal roll?) dated 24/10/21). Another medal roll card for 8626 Pte T J Bloomfield, 2nd W Yorks Regt, shows that he was awarded the DCM and gives London Gazette reference 23.6.1915. In fact it is in the Gazette for 22 June 1915 though gives no further detail than the index card. By searching the London Gazette I found another reference to him (LG 24 Aug 1915), this time giving his full name, Thomas John Bloomfield, and announcing that he had been awarded the Cross of the Order of St George, 4th Class. (He was then of 2nd Bn West Yorks Regt.) As far as I can tell from a bit of googling, his Battalion were on the Western Front for the duration of the war, so he doesn't sound likely to be your man either.

Lots of negatives, sorry!

There are several other Thomas Bloomfields on the medal roll index, which you can search via Documents Online. To download images there costs £2 (though you get six medal cards on each downloaded image, so may get several Thomases for the price of one). If you or your library has a subscription to Ancestry, though, you can look at the images there. Note that many people listed on the medal roll cards are not listed by their full names (some only have initials).

As Peter has already said, the medals themselves may provide clues. Do you have them, or know which medals he had?

[Peter Goodey]

I'm hoping the questioner has identified the right index card. I don't know what else to read into his statement.

[Coromandel]

I'm hoping the questioner has identified the right index card.

I had assumed that the medal roll card hadn't been identified, since there is uncertainty about which regiment Thomas was in.

[Peter Goodey]

Let us hope he can. Although I see no candidates that mention Royal Artillery. BTW There is no such thing as as Naval Division of the Royal Artillery.

There is also a suggestion that he was deaf as a result of the war. I can't see any pension records which might support that (NB pension records are distinct from the burnt documents)