From the Kings Lynn Roll of Honour held in The Old Goal House, Kings Lynn Bloom, Henry Charles, Lance Corporal 7182 1st Battalion Norfolk Regiment; eldest son of Mr and Mrs Charles Bloom, 18 Checker St, Lynn; killed at La Bassee January 30th 1915 age 27. Harry Bloom, a great-grandson of the Rev Haigh (sic) Bloom, vicar of Castle Acre, enlisted in the 2nd Norfolks and as he was home on leave when war broke out and that battalion was in India, he was drafted to the 1st Battalion on the West Front. He was killed in the trenches of La Bassee during the first winter of the war. He had been in the army for 8 years. He went with his regiment to South Africa in 1906, and then to India. He came home on long leave on Feb 1st 1913 and left on the outbreak of war in August 1914. When in residence at Lynn he worked for some time with the Cooper Roller Bearing Co, South Lynn. A brother, J E Bloom, gave his life in 1916. In a letter describing his trench warfare experiences of the winter of 1914 Harry Bloom wrote “About 8 o’clock on Christmas morning the Germans showed themselves above the ground unarmed; met us halfway between the trenches. They gave us little souvenirs and we gave them cigarettes, they wanted to play football but we hadn’t one so we spent the time talking. I had a narrow escape not so long ago, I volunteered to take my section into a house and keep the German snipers out. The house stood in advance of our own trenches about 26 yards from those of the Germans... about an hour afterwards they put nine shells into the house. I received a slight cut on the face from a splinter.” Medals • B.W. (Boer war?) & Victory medal - document no WO 320 840 page 357/8 • Star with clasp (z/2633) – document no WO 329 2430 page 19 The numbers quoted are those of the relevant documents in the PRO at Kew. To see the entries quote this reference and go to the relevant pages. He also received the relevant campaign medal and the death penny, whereabouts of which are unknown.

Wendy Bloom