Harry Dudfield (12 May 1912 – 19 July 1987) was a New Zealand politician of the National Party.

Biography

Dudfield was born in Gisborne in 1912. He worked for A. and T. Burt until World War II, when he became a soldier and served in the

Middle East The Middle East ( ar, الشرق الأوسط, ISO 233: ) is a geopolitical region commonly encompassing Arabian Peninsula, Arabia (including the Arabian Peninsula and Bahrain), Anatolia, Asia Minor (Asian part of Turkey except Hatay Pro ...

, Italy and the Pacific. After the war, he worked for the Department of Health, first in

Auckland Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The List of New Zealand urban areas by population, most populous urban area in the country and the List of cities in Oceania by po ...

and then in

Tokomaru Bay Tokomaru Bay is a small beachside community located on the isolated East Coast of New Zealand's North Island. It is 91 km north of Gisborne, on State Highway 35, and close to Mount Hikurangi. The district was originally known as Toka-a- ...

. As a New Zealand Army Captain with Kayforce, he led an advance party to the

Korean War , date = {{Ubl, 25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953 (''de facto'')({{Age in years, months, weeks and days, month1=6, day1=25, year1=1950, month2=7, day2=27, year2=1953), 25 June 1950 – present (''de jure'')({{Age in years, months, weeks a ...

, but was withdrawn to contest the snap election for the electorate. He won the Gisborne electorate from

Labour Labour or labor may refer to: * Childbirth, the delivery of a baby * Labour (human activity), or work ** Manual labour, physical work ** Wage labour, a socioeconomic relationship between a worker and an employer ** Organized labour and the labour ...

Reginald Keeling Reginald Alfred Keeling (15 January 1904 – 7 August 1991) was a New Zealand politician of the Labour Party. Biography Early life and career Keeling was born in 1904 in Fulham to Alfred J. Keeling. He was educated at Fulham Central Scho ...

in the 1951 election, but lost to Keeling in the next election in

1954 Events January * January 1 – The Soviet Union ceases to demand war reparations from West Germany. * January 3 – The Italian broadcaster RAI officially begins transmitting. * January 7 – Georgetown-IBM experiment: The fir ...

. He told Parliament in 1952 that he doubted Communist claims that United Nations forces were using germ warfare in Korea. In 1953, Dudfield was awarded the

Queen Elizabeth II Coronation Medal The Queen Elizabeth II Coronation Medal (french: link=no, Médaille du couronnement de la Reine Élizabeth II) is a commemorative medal instituted to celebrate the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II on 2 June 1953. Award This medal was awarded a ...

. After his time in Parliament, he worked as a health inspector in

Rotorua Rotorua () is a city in the Bay of Plenty region of New Zealand's North Island. The city lies on the southern shores of Lake Rotorua, from which it takes its name. It is the seat of the Rotorua Lakes District, a territorial authority encompass ...

and then in Tawa. In 1955, he married Mona Lindsay at the Presbyterian Church in

St Albans St Albans () is a cathedral city in Hertfordshire, England, east of Hemel Hempstead and west of Hatfield, Hertfordshire, Hatfield, north-west of London, south-west of Welwyn Garden City and south-east of Luton. St Albans was the first major ...

Christchurch Christchurch ( ; mi, Ōtautahi) is the largest city in the South Island of New Zealand and the seat of the Canterbury Region. Christchurch lies on the South Island's east coast, just north of Banks Peninsula on Pegasus Bay. The Avon River / ...

. Dudfield died on 19 July 1987 in Tawa, and his wife died on 14 November 2010.

Notes

References

* * 1912 births 1987 deaths New Zealand National Party MPs New Zealand military personnel of World War II New Zealand military personnel of the Korean War New Zealand Army officers People from Gisborne, New Zealand New Zealand MPs for North Island electorates Members of the New Zealand House of Representatives Unsuccessful candidates in the 1954 New Zealand general election Unsuccessful candidates in the 1949 New Zealand general election {{NewZealand-mil-bio-stub