Gerald Hopkinson

Major-General Gerald Charles Hopkinson CB DSO OBE MC (27 May 1910 – 2 June 1989) was a British Army officer who commanded 4th Division.

Gerald Hopkinson
Birth nameGerald Charles Hopkinson
Born27 May 1910[1]
Wellington, Somerset, England[2]
Died2 June 1989 (aged 79)
Osborne House, Isle of Wight
Allegiance United Kingdom
Service/branch British Army
Years of service1930–1962
RankMajor-General
Commands held44th Battalion Royal Tank Regiment
4th Mechanized Brigade
1st Royal Tank Regiment
33rd Armoured Brigade
4th Division
Battles/warsWorld War II
AwardsCompanion of the Order of the Bath
Distinguished Service Order
Officer of the Order of the British Empire
Military Cross

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, and Beryl Mary Stewart.[3][4]

Military career

Educated at Haileybury,[5] Hopkinson was commissioned in to the Royal Tank Corps in 1930.[6] He served in World War II[7] as Commanding Officer of 44th Battalion Royal Tank Regiment[8] and then, briefly, as acting Commander of 4th Armoured Brigade in early 1945.[9] He became Commanding Officer of 1st Royal Tank Regiment in 1952.[10] He was appointed Commander of 33rd Armoured Brigade in 1953, General Officer Commanding 4th Division in 1957 and Director of the Royal Armoured Corps in 1959 before retiring in 1962.[11]

References
  1. England & Wales, Civil Registration Death Index, 1916–2007
  2. 1911 England Census
  3. Somerset, England, Church of England Baptisms, 1813–1914
  4. Clutterbuck, L. A.; Dooner, W. T. (1914). The Bond of Sacrifice: A Biographical Record of All British Officers who Fell in the Great War. Anglo-African Pub. Contractors. pp. 194–195. Retrieved 19 February 2020.
  5. Military Crosses - Haileybury
  6. "No. 33639". The London Gazette. 29 August 1930. p. 5361.
  7. Recommendations for Honours and Awards
  8. Chadwick (1970), The Royal Tank Regiment, p114
  9. Orders of Battle Archived March 14, 2007, at the Wayback Machine
  10. "1 Royal Tank Regiment Commanding Officers". Archived from the original on 10 August 2011. Retrieved 16 August 2011.
  11. Army Commands Archived 5 July 2015 at the Wayback Machine
Military offices
Preceded by
Reginald Hewetson		 General Officer Commanding the 4th Division
1957–1959		 Succeeded by
Desmond Gordon
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