Gerald Hopkinson
{{Short description|British Army general}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=February 2021}}
{{Infobox military person
|placeofburial=
|image=
|name=Gerald Hopkinson
|birth_name=Gerald Charles Hopkinson
|birth_date=27 May 1910England & Wales, Civil Registration Death Index, 1916–2007
|death_date=2 June 1989 (aged 79)
|birth_place=Wellington, Somerset, England1911 England Census
|death_place=Osborne House, Isle of Wight
|caption=
|nickname=
|allegiance={{flag|United Kingdom}}
|branch={{army|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
|laterwork=
}}
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.Somerset, England, Church of England Baptisms, 1813–1914{{cite book |last1=Clutterbuck |first1=L. A. |last2=Dooner |first2=W. T. |title=The Bond of Sacrifice: A Biographical Record of All British Officers who Fell in the Great War |date=1914 |publisher=Anglo-African Pub. Contractors |pages=194–195 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=UvflAAAAMAAJ&q=Charles+Reginald+Thompson+Hopkinson&pg=PA194 |accessdate=19 February 2020 |language=en}}
Military career
Educated at Haileybury,{{Cite web |url=http://www.haileybury.com/medals/military_cross%20ISC.htm |title=Military Crosses - Haileybury |access-date=16 August 2011 |archive-date=20 March 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120320012045/http://www.haileybury.com/medals/military_cross%20ISC.htm |url-status=dead }} Hopkinson was commissioned in to the Royal Tank Corps in 1930.{{London Gazette|issue=33639|page=5361|date=29 August 1930}} He served in World War II[http://www.hut-six.co.uk/WW2data/WO373-111-U.html Recommendations for Honours and Awards] as Commanding Officer of the 44th Royal Tank RegimentChadwick (1970), The Royal Tank Regiment, p114 and then, briefly, as acting Commander of 4th Armoured Brigade in early 1945.[http://www.ordersofbattle.com/UnitData.aspx?UniX=1360&Tab=App Orders of Battle] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070314210144/http://www.ordersofbattle.com/UnitData.aspx?UniX=1360&Tab=App |date=14 March 2007 }} He became Commanding Officer of 1st Royal Tank Regiment in 1952.{{Cite web |url=http://www.royaltankregiment.com/en-GB/1rtrcommandingofficers.aspx |title=1 Royal Tank Regiment Commanding Officers |access-date=16 August 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110810235921/http://www.royaltankregiment.com/en-GB/1rtrcommandingofficers.aspx |archive-date=10 August 2011 |url-status=dead }} 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.[http://www.gulabin.com/armynavy/pdf/Army%20Commands%201900-2011.pdf Army Commands] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150705211343/http://www.gulabin.com/armynavy/pdf/Army%20Commands%201900-2011.pdf |date=5 July 2015 }}
References
{{reflist}}
{{s-start}}
{{s-mil}}
{{s-bef|before=Reginald Hewetson}}
{{s-ttl|title=GOC 4th Division|years=1957−1959}}
{{s-aft|after=Desmond Gordon}}
{{s-end}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hopkinson, Gerald}}
Category:British Army major generals
Category:British Army personnel of World War II
Category:Royal Tank Regiment officers
Category:Companions of the Order of the Bath
Category:Companions of the Distinguished Service Order
Category:Officers of the Order of the British Empire
Category:People educated at Haileybury and Imperial Service College
Category:Recipients of the Military Cross