Dorothy Broad

This portrait of Dorothy Broad (1889-1976) was possibly taken during the First World War (1914-19).

Dorothy’s fiancé, Captain Thomas Wyville Leonard Rutherfurd (1890-1918), was in the New Zealand Expeditionary Force (13th Reinforcements). Dorothy lived with her family in Greymouth when she met Wyville, who had been working since 1911 as a mining engineer in Reefton. They were engaged before he volunteered to go to war in 1914.

Dorothy and her sister Frances were excellent craftswomen and made many objects for fundraising on the West Coast during the war. Like many New Zealand women, Dorothy and Frances had an invested interest in soldiers' wellbeing, with important men in their lives overseas.

While serving in Persia (Iran), in October 1918, Wyville died from pneumonia, aggravated by military service. He was buried in the British Military Cemetery in Tehran.