Sir David Armand Hopkin (10 January 1922 – 21 August 1997) was a British barrister, magistrate, and boxing administrator. He was Chief Metropolitan Stipendiary Magistrate from 1982 to 1992, Chairman of the British Boxing Board of Control 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, and Corpus Christi College, Cambridge, 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. After being called to the bar by Gray's Inn in 1949, Hopkin joined the staff of the Director of Public Prosecutions 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 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 ...

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.

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