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Maurice Broomfield

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Maurice Broomfield
Born
Maurice William Broomfield

2 February 1916
Died4 October 2010 (aged 94)
NationalityEnglish
OccupationPhotographer
Known forImages of post-war British industry
Spouses
Anita Sonja Lagusova
(m. 1947; died 1982)
Suzy Thompson-Coon
(m. 1987)
ChildrenTwo, including Nick Broomfield

Maurice William Broomfield (2 February 1916 – 4 October 2010) was an English photographer whose images of post-war British industry were credited with capturing the optimistic spirit of the time.[1]

Life and work

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Born in Draycott, Derbyshire, England, Broomfield was the son of a lace designer.[2] On leaving school at 15, he worked as a lathe operator on the assembly lines of the engineering company Rolls-Royce. In the evenings he studied at Derby College of Art. During the Second World War he was a conscientious objector, working in the Friends Ambulance Unit as an ambulance driver in the London Blitz, and after the war for Save the Children in Germany. Broomfield's archive has been acquired by the Victoria and Albert Museum.[3]

The British Library conducted an oral history interview (C459/194) with Maurice Broomfield in 2007 for its An Oral History of British Photography collection.[4]

Personal life

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Broomfield married twice, firstly to Anita Sonja Lagusova, in 1947, with whom he had two children, Ann, and documentary film-maker Nick. Lagusova died in 1982, aged 60, from cancer. In 1987, he married Suzy Thompson-Coon.[5]

References

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  1. ^ Obituary: Maurice Broomfield, The Daily Telegraph, 7 October 2010.
  2. ^ Gemma Marmalade; Philip Harris (15 December 2020). Mythologies, Identities and Territories of Photography: Forever//Now. Cambridge Scholars Publishing. p. 243. ISBN 978-1-5275-6375-9.
  3. ^ "Maurice Broomfield 1916-2010". Britishphotohistory.ning.com. 7 October 2010. Retrieved 21 February 2022.
  4. ^ Broomfield, Maurice (1 of 5) Oral History of British Photography, The British Library Board, 2007. Sounds.bl.uk, Retrieved 1 February 2018
  5. ^ Jon Levy Obituary: Maurice Broomfield, The Guardian, 13 October 2010
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