Longtime Wilton Resident, David Bloomer, has passed at 93

David Eardley Bloomer, of Wilton, CT, passed away on Friday, April 22nd, 2016 of a sudden heart attack. He was 93 years of age. Born on March 19th, 1923 in Harrow on the Hill, England, to Cyril Eardley Bloomer (a marine insurance broker with Lloyd’s of London) and Florence Price Bloomer (recipient of Royal Red Cross, Class 11 Medal for service 1914/1918 as a Matron nurse running large convalescent hospitals in London), David graduated from Haileybury College in Hertfordshire. He enlisted in the King’s Royal Rifle Corps (King’s 60th Rifles) as a Lieutenant at age 18. David had a long and front-line career in the army: wounded in action and promoted on the field to Captain during the Battle of the Bulge. He was mentioned twice in dispatches for going behind enemy lines to recover the bodies of those under his command. After the Battle of Remagen, crossing the Rhine, his regiment liberated Bergen-Belsen concentration camp and swept down through Austria. After the Armistice, he and other battle-proven officers were sent to Tanganyika to train the King’s African Rifles to combat the Japanese in Burma. Luckily the war ended right then. David was then garrisoned in Uganda, guarding an Italian prisoner of war camp.

Upon leaving the British Army, liking Africa, David secured a job in Nairobi, Kenya with Standard Vacuum Oil Co. of East Africa. Eventually his territory covered all of East Africa, from  Ethiopia to Madagascar. Arriving in New York in 1956, he was head of the East African desk at Standard Vacuum. While in New York, he married Gertrude “Siddie” Shepard. After two years, David and Siddie moved to London and then on to Nairobi with the addition of their first son Jeremy. In Nairobi, Siddie presented David with their second son Martin. All four returned to the States with David again at the Standard Vacuum East African desk.

They were blessed with little Alice and they all lived together happily on Park Avenue with schools, church, dancing, Knickerbocker Greys, summer camp, and the whole East-side do. David became an American citizen, which gave him particular pride. They moved to a lovely farm in Oley, Pennsylvania in 1971 where David and Siddie bought The Survival Equipment Company, a manufacturer of survival kits for military and civilian use. They ran the company for twenty years— while Jeremy went from the Hill School to the University of Pennsylvania, Martin to Deerfield and Yale, and Alice to Shipley and Mt. Holyoke. David was Rotary Club President in Fleetwood, President of the British Officers Club of Philadelphia, and a member of the St. George’s Society.

In 1997, David and Siddie moved to Wilton, Connecticut to be near their three children’s families, including eight grandchildren. David thrived in Wilton, Connecticut. He was a board member and then served on the executive board of the Visiting Nurse & Hospice of Fairfield County.  He was an enthusiastic member of the parish of St. Matthew’s Episcopal Church. In addition to serving on the Vestry, he chaired the Thursday Luncheon Club and participated in the Outreach Committee. A founding member of the  Wi-ACT Committee, he helped relocate two refugee families and organize hundreds of thousands of “Stop Hunger Now” meals.  He thoroughly enjoyed membership of the Wilton  Kiwanis Club and its philanthropic efforts.

He is survived by his wife of 60 years Siddie Bloomer, his three children Jeremy, Martin, and Alice, their spouses Mary Bloomer, Wiebke-Marie Stock-Bloomer, and Jonathan Woods, and his grandchildren: William, Caroline, Christopher Bloomer; Cameron, Catherine, Lily Bloomer; Teddy and Andrew Woods. David's funeral service will be held at St Matthews Episcopal Church in Wilton on Monday May 2nd at 10:am. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Visiting Nurse and Hospice http://www.visitingnurse.net/NHC-contact-us.html and Wi-ACT http://templebnaichaim.org/index.php/tikkun-olam/refugee-resettlement-project