Sir David Armand Hopkin (10 January 1922 – 21 August 1997) was a British barrister, magistrate, and boxing administrator. He was

Chief Metropolitan Stipendiary Magistrate The Chief Metropolitan Stipendiary Magistrate, known as Chief Metropolitan Police Magistrate until 1949, and also known as the Chief Metropolitan Magistrate and Chief Magistrate of the Police Courts of the Metropolis, was a senior British magistrate ...

from 1982 to 1992, Chairman of the

British Boxing Board of Control The British Boxing Board of Control (BBBofC) is the governing body of professional boxing in the United Kingdom. History The British Boxing Board of Control was formed in 1929 from the old National Sporting Club and is headquartered in Cardiff. ...

from 1983 to 1993, and President of the same body from 1991 until 1997. The son of Welsh Labour politician Daniel Hopkin, also sometime a Metropolitan Stipendiary magistrate, and of Edmée Hopkin, David Hopkin was educated at St Paul's School, London,

University College, Aberystwyth Aberystwyth University ( cy, Prifysgol Aberystwyth) is a Public university, public Research university, research university in Aberystwyth, Wales. Aberystwyth was a founding member institution of the former federal University of Wales. The universi ...

, and

Corpus Christi College, Cambridge Corpus Christi College (full name: "The College of Corpus Christi and the Blessed Virgin Mary", often shortened to "Corpus"), is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. From the late 14th century through to the early 19th century ...

, where he read Modern Languages. He served in the

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 ...

from 1942 to 1947, first in the Intelligence Corps, then in the Pioneer Corps, supervising Italian prisoners of war in Egypt. He attained the rank of honorary

major Major (commandant in certain jurisdictions) is a military rank of commissioned officer status, with corresponding ranks existing in many military forces throughout the world. When used unhyphenated and in conjunction with no other indicators ...

. After being

called to the bar The call to the bar is a legal term of art in most common law jurisdictions where persons must be qualified to be allowed to argue in court on behalf of another party and are then said to have been "called to the bar" or to have received "call to ...

by Gray's Inn in 1949, Hopkin joined the staff of the

Director of Public Prosecutions The Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) is the office or official charged with the prosecution of criminal offences in several criminal jurisdictions around the world. The title is used mainly in jurisdictions that are or have been members o ...

in 1950, where he remained until 1970, rising to become Deputy Director of Public Prosecutions. Among the notable cases with which he was involved was the prosecution of the Richardson brothers and of

Frankie Fraser Frank Davidson Fraser (13 December 1923 – 26 November 2014), better known as "Mad" Frankie Fraser, was an English gangster who spent 42 years in prison for numerous violent offences.

in 1965 and of the

Kray twins Ronald Kray (24 October 193317 March 1995) and Reginald Kray (24 October 19331 October 2000) were identical twin brothers, gangsters and convicted criminals. They were the foremost perpetrators of organised crime in the East End of London, Engl ...

in 1968. He was appointed a Metropolitan Stipendiary Magistrate in 1970, and in 1982 he became Chief Metropolitan Stipendiary Magistrate, receiving the customary

knighthood A knight is a person granted an honorary title of knighthood by a head of state (including the Pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church or the country, especially in a military capacity. Knighthood finds origins in the Gr ...

in 1987. He retired in July 1992; at time, he was the longest-serving Chief Metropolitan Stipendiary Magistrate in modern times. Hopkin was involved with boxing administration since the 1950s, when he was invited to join the Southern Area Council of the British Boxing Board of Control by the boxing promoter

Jack Solomons Israel Jacob "Jack" Solomons (10 December 1900 – 9 December 1979) was a British boxing promoter who has been called "one of the greatest boxing promoters in history" and "England's greatest boxing impresario". Solomons was born in Petticoat L ...

. As chairman and president of the Board of Control, he campaigned for the standardisation of boxing regulations and the reform of the constitution of the

European Boxing Union The European Boxing Union (EBU), formerly known as the International Boxing Union (IBU), is a pan-European governing body that sanctions championship bouts in professional boxing. The EBU governs the most-prestigious continental title in Europe, th ...

References

* https://www.independent.co.uk/news/obituaries/obituary-sir-david-hopkin-1238736.html * https://www.ukwhoswho.com/view/10.1093/ww/9780199540891.001.0001/ww-9780199540884-e-179314 {{DEFAULTSORT:Hopkin, David British sports executives and administrators Knights Bachelor Stipendiary magistrates (England and Wales) People educated at St Paul's School, London Alumni of Aberystwyth University Alumni of Corpus Christi College, Cambridge British Army officers British Army personnel of World War II Welsh barristers Members of Gray's Inn 1922 births 1997 deaths