British diplomat Donald Hopson was beaten by Beijing red guard thugs on 22 August 1967 kse1967-08-23 p1

Sir Donald Charles Hopson, (31 August 1915 –

Buenos Aires Buenos Aires, controlled by the government of the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires, is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Argentina. It is located on the southwest of the Río de la Plata. Buenos Aires is classified as an Alpha− glob ...

, 26 August 1974) was a British diplomat. Hopson was educated at

Christ's Hospital Christ's Hospital is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school (English Private schools in the United Kingdom, fee-charging boarding school for pupils aged 11–18) with a royal charter, located to the south of Horsham in West Sussex. T ...

and

University College, Oxford University College, formally The Master and Fellows of the College of the Great Hall of the University commonly called University College in the University of Oxford and colloquially referred to as "Univ", is a Colleges of the University of Oxf ...

. He was commissioned into the

Lancashire Fusiliers The Lancashire Fusiliers was a line infantry regiment of the British Army that saw distinguished service through many years and wars, including the Second Boer War, and the World War I, First and World War II, Second World Wars. It had many diffe ...

in 1939. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, he served across Europe, with No.3 Commando between 1943 and 1944, and as Brigade Major of

1st Special Service Brigade The 1st Special Service Brigade was a commando (special operations capable) brigade of the British Army. Formed during the Second World War, it consisted of elements of the British Army (including Commandos) and the Royal Marines. The brigade's ...

from 1944 until the war's end. He was

mentioned in despatches To be mentioned in dispatches (or despatches) describes a member of the armed forces whose name appears in an official report written by a superior officer and sent to the high command, in which their gallant or meritorious action in the face of t ...

and received the

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

and the

Distinguished Service Order The Distinguished Service Order (DSO) is a Military awards and decorations, military award of the United Kingdom, as well as formerly throughout the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth, awarded for operational gallantry for highly successful ...

. He joined the Foreign Service in 1945. He was Ambassador to

Laos Laos, officially the Lao People's Democratic Republic (LPDR), is the only landlocked country in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by Myanmar and China to the northwest, Vietnam to the east, Cambodia to the southeast, and Thailand to the west and ...

from 1962 to 1965, Ambassador to

Mongolia Mongolia is a landlocked country in East Asia, bordered by Russia to the north and China to the south and southeast. It covers an area of , with a population of 3.5 million, making it the world's List of countries and dependencies by po ...

from 1965 to 1966, Chargé d'affaires to

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

from 1965 to 1968 (during which he was caught up in the arson attacks on the Chargé d'affaires Office in Peking, now Beijing, on 22 August 1967), Ambassador to

Venezuela Venezuela, officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many Federal Dependencies of Venezuela, islands and islets in the Caribbean Sea. It com ...

from 1969 to 1972, and Ambassador to

Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...

from 1973 to 1974.

References

External links

The Papers of Sir Donald Hopson
at the

Churchill Archives Centre The Churchill Archives Centre (CAC) at Churchill College at the University of Cambridge is one of the largest repositories in the United Kingdom for the preservation and study of modern personal papers. It is best known for housing the papers ...

1915 births 1974 deaths Alumni of University College, Oxford Ambassadors of the United Kingdom to Laos Ambassadors of the United Kingdom to Mongolia Ambassadors of the United Kingdom to China Ambassadors of the United Kingdom to Venezuela Ambassadors of the United Kingdom to Argentina British Army personnel of World War II Companions of the Distinguished Service Order Knights Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George Lancashire Fusiliers officers People educated at Christ's Hospital Recipients of the Military Cross {{UK-diplomat-stub