Major General Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of ...

George Frederick Hopkinson OBE MC (14 December 1895 – 9 September 1943) was a senior

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...

officer An officer is a person who has a position of authority in a hierarchical organization. The term derives from Old French ''oficier'' "officer, official" (early 14c., Modern French ''officier''), from Medieval Latin ''officiarius'' "an officer," f ...

who commanded the 1st Airborne Division during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

, where he was killed in action in Italy in September 1943. In addition to being one of the few British Army generals killed in action during the war, he was also the only British airborne general to be killed during the conflict.

Early life and First World War

Prior to the start of the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, Hopkinson worked as an apprentice at an engineering works at Retford, Nottinghamshire, his birthplace. Too young to join up when the conflict began, he enlisted in the

in early 1915, joining the

Officers Training Corps The Officers' Training Corps (OTC), more fully called the University Officers' Training Corps (UOTC), are military leadership training units operated by the British Army. Their focus is to develop the leadership abilities of their members whilst ...

and then being commissioned as a second lieutenant into the 4th Battalion,

North Staffordshire Regiment The North Staffordshire Regiment (Prince of Wales's) was a line infantry regiment of the British Army, which was in existence between 1881 and 1959. The 64th (2nd Staffordshire) Regiment of Foot was created on 21 April 1758 from the 2nd Battalio ...

as a second lieutenant (on probation) on 27 March 1915. After a short period on Guernsey with them, Hopkinson was posted to France as a signal officer in the 72nd Brigade, 36th (Ulster) Division. On 16 September 1918 he was awarded the

Military Cross The Military Cross (MC) is the third-level (second-level pre-1993) military decoration awarded to officers and (since 1993) other ranks of the British Armed Forces, and formerly awarded to officers of other Commonwealth countries. The MC ...

for his actions during the retreat of the British Army in 1918; the citation read: The war came to an end soon after, due to the

Armistice of 11 November 1918 The Armistice of 11 November 1918 was the armistice signed at Le Francport near Compiègne that ended fighting on land, sea, and air in World War I between the Entente and their last remaining opponent, Germany. Previous armistices ...

Between the wars

Hopkinson left the army shortly after the end of the conflict, and in 1919 enrolled in

Caius College, Cambridge Gonville and Caius College, often referred to simply as Caius ( ), is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1348, it is the fourth-oldest of the University of Cambridge's 31 colleges and one of th ...

, where he studied for a civil engineering degree. When he had finished his studies, he spent some time travelling throughout Europe, visiting Poland, the Baltic States and Russia. However, after this period of travelling, in 1923 he returned to the army and the North Staffordshire Regiment, and by the following year had reached the rank of captain. He began studying for entry into the Staff College, Camberley, and attained a place in the institution in January 1930. When he passed out of the Staff College he was seconded from his regiment and appointed as a General Staff Officer (GSO III) to the

War Office The War Office was a department of the British Government responsible for the administration of the British Army between 1857 and 1964, when its functions were transferred to the new Ministry of Defence (MoD). This article contains text from ...

, and was promoted a short time later to GSO II at the School of Artillery at Larkhill; during the period, he also learnt to fly, gaining his pilot's license in 1933. In 1936 he returned to his regiment and commanded a

rifle company A company is a military unit, typically consisting of 80–250 soldiers and usually commanded by a major or a captain. Most companies are formed of three to seven platoons, although the exact number may vary by country, unit type, and structure. ...

as a brevet major, but in 1937 he once again retired from the army, taking a job in a civil engineering firm that had operations in

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with a small portion on the Balkan Peninsula in ...

Second World War

When the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

began in September 1939, Hopkinson immediately rejoined the army and was posted to the Staff of the Military Representative that served on the Supreme War Council. In November 1939 he took command of a General Headquarters (GHQ) Reconnaissance Unit which served throughout the Battle of France; injured during a motorcycle accident, he recovered in time to evacuate himself and many of his unit's vehicles from Dunkirk. He was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) on 20 August 1940 for his work during the Battle of France, in particular as liaison officer to Belgian forces. He then qualified as a parachutist and was then assigned to the British Army's airborne forces; as he trained he helped to pioneer a number of airborne tactics, including the delivery and casting off of gliders from the transport aircraft towing them. In late October 1941 Hopkinson was promoted to acting brigadier and took command of the 31st Independent Infantry Brigade, which was soon converted into the

1st Airlanding Brigade The 1st Airlanding Brigade was an airborne infantry brigade of the British Army during the Second World War and the only glider infantry formation assigned to the 1st Airborne Division, serving alongside the 1st Parachute Brigade and 4th Par ...

, which became part of the 1st Airborne Division, then commanded by

Frederick Browning Lieutenant-General Sir Frederick Arthur Montague "Boy" Browning, (20 December 1896 – 14 March 1965) was a senior officer of the British Army who has been called the "father of the British airborne forces". He was also an Olympic bobslei ...

. On 6 April 1943 Hopkinson was promoted to the acting rank of major general, and succeeded Browning in command of the 1st Airborne Division. After being informed that

Operation Husky Operation or Operations may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media * ''Operation'' (game), a battery-operated board game that challenges dexterity * Operation (music), a term used in musical set theory * ''Operations'' (magazine), Multi-Ma ...

, the

Allied invasion of Sicily The Allied invasion of Sicily, also known as Operation Husky, was a major campaign of World War II in which the Allied forces invaded the island of Sicily in July 1943 and took it from the Axis powers ( Fascist Italy and Nazi Germany). It b ...

, would take place in several months, Hopkinson was determined that the 1st Airborne would participate, and thus implemented a tough training regime to ensure that the division was sufficiently prepared.

Sicily and Italy

Operation Husky began on the night of 9 July with an airborne assault by the 1st Airlanding Brigade (now commanded by Brigadier Philip Hicks) and the 1st Parachute Brigade of the 1st Airborne Division, and elements of the U.S. 82nd Airborne Division, with both divisions suffering heavy losses in men and equipment as they carried out their objectives. Due to a number of factors, including poor navigation and the inexperience of the pilots of the transport aircraft, many of the gliders transporting the 1st Airlanding Brigade failed to reach their assigned landing zones. One such glider carried Hopkinson and members of his staff; the tow-rope of the glider was detached prematurely and it was forced to ditch in the sea. Although uninjured, Hopkinson was forced to wait by the partially submerged glider until daylight, when he was picked up a

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against ...

destroyer. After both brigades had accomplished their missions, despite heavy casualties, they were withdrawn to North Africa to recover, and Allied ground forces began to fight through Sicily; fighting there ended on 17 August, and in early September the Allies launched their invasion of Italy itself. On 8 September the

2nd A second is the base unit of time in the International System of Units (SI). Second, Seconds or 2nd may also refer to: Mathematics * 2 (number), as an ordinal (also written as ''2nd'' or ''2d'') * Second of arc, an angular measurement unit, ...

and 4th Parachute Brigades landed in Italy, followed several days later by the remainder of the division landing at the port of Taranto. Hopkinson landed with the rest of the division and accepted the surrender of the Italian garrison there, then ordered the division to advance northwards. Fighting was fierce against

Fallschirmjäger The ''Fallschirmjäger'' () were the paratrooper branch of the German Luftwaffe before and during World War II. They were the first German paratroopers to be committed in large-scale airborne operations. Throughout World War II, the commander ...

elements of the German 1st Parachute Division, which set up ambushes and roadblocks to deter the division; one such roadblock was set up near the town of

Castellaneta Castellaneta (Tarantino: ) is a city and ''comune'' in the province of Taranto in the Apulia region of Southern Italy, about from Taranto. Located in a territory spanning from the Murgia to the Ionian Sea, characterized by numerous ''gravina'' ...

. On 9 September, the

10th Parachute Battalion The 10th Battalion, The Parachute Regiment was an Airborne forces, airborne infantry battalion of the Parachute Regiment (United Kingdom), Parachute Regiment, originally raised as the 10th (Sussex) Battalion by the British Army during the Second ...

assaulted the roadblock, with Hopkinson in close attendance. During the fighting, Hopkinson was killed by machine gun fire. He was replaced by Brigadier Ernest Down, commander of the 2nd Parachute Brigade. Hopkinson was the only British airborne general to be killed during the Second World War. He is buried in Bari War Cemetery.

References

Bibliography

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External links

Generals of World War II
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hopkinson, George 1895 births 1943 deaths Alumni of Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge British Army generals of World War II British Army personnel of World War I British Army personnel killed in World War II Graduates of the Staff College, Camberley North Staffordshire Regiment officers Officers of the Order of the British Empire People from Retford Recipients of the Military Cross Deaths by firearm in Italy Military personnel from Nottinghamshire Allied invasion of Sicily Burials in Apulia British Army major generals