Gerald Hopkinson Explained

Gerald Hopkinson
Birth Name:Gerald Charles Hopkinson
Birth Date:27 May 1910[1]
Death Date:2 June 1989 (aged 79)
Birth Place:Wellington, Somerset, England[2]
Death Place:Osborne House, Isle of Wight
Allegiance: United Kingdom
Serviceyears:1930–1962
Servicenumber:47586
Rank:Major-General
Commands:44th Royal Tank Regiment
4th Mechanized Brigade
1st Royal Tank Regiment
33rd Armoured Brigade
4th Division
Unit:Royal Tank Regiment
Battles:World War II
Awards:Companion of the Order of the Bath
Distinguished Service Order
Officer of the Order of the British Empire
Military Cross

Major-General Gerald Charles Hopkinson CB DSO OBE MC (27 May 1910 – 2 June 1989) was a British Army officer who commanded the 4th Division after seeing service in World War II.

Early life

Hopkinson was born in Wellington, Somerset to Captain Charles Reginald Thompson Hopkinson of the East Surrey Regiment, who was killed in action in September 1914, a month after the British entry into World War I, and Beryl Mary Stewart.[3] [4]

Military career

Educated at Haileybury,[5] Hopkinson was commissioned in to the Royal Tank Corps in 1930. He served in World War II[6] as Commanding Officer of the 44th Royal Tank Regiment[7] and then, briefly, as acting Commander of 4th Armoured Brigade in early 1945.[8] He became Commanding Officer of 1st Royal Tank Regiment in 1952.[9] He was appointed Commander of 33rd Armoured Brigade in 1953, General Officer Commanding (GOC) of the 4th Division in 1957 and Director of the Royal Armoured Corps in 1959 before retiring in 1962.[10]

Notes and References

  1. England & Wales, Civil Registration Death Index, 1916–2007
  2. 1911 England Census
  3. Somerset, England, Church of England Baptisms, 1813–1914
  4. Book: Clutterbuck . L. A. . Dooner . W. T. . The Bond of Sacrifice: A Biographical Record of All British Officers who Fell in the Great War . 1914 . Anglo-African Pub. Contractors . 194–195 . 19 February 2020 . en.
  5. Web site: Military Crosses - Haileybury . 16 August 2011 . 20 March 2012 . https://web.archive.org/web/20120320012045/http://www.haileybury.com/medals/military_cross%20ISC.htm . dead .
  6. http://www.hut-six.co.uk/WW2data/WO373-111-U.html Recommendations for Honours and Awards
  7. Chadwick (1970), The Royal Tank Regiment, p114
  8. http://www.ordersofbattle.com/UnitData.aspx?UniX=1360&Tab=App Orders of Battle
  9. Web site: 1 Royal Tank Regiment Commanding Officers . 16 August 2011 . https://web.archive.org/web/20110810235921/http://www.royaltankregiment.com/en-GB/1rtrcommandingofficers.aspx . 10 August 2011 . dead .
  10. http://www.gulabin.com/armynavy/pdf/Army%20Commands%201900-2011.pdf Army Commands