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 a ...

Gerald Charles Hopkinson CB DSO OBE MC (27 May 1910 – 2 June 1989) was a

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 who commanded the 4th Division after seeing service in

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 opposin ...

Early life

Hopkinson was born in

Wellington, Somerset Wellington is a market town in rural Somerset, a county in the west of England, situated south west of Taunton in the Somerset West and Taunton district, near the border with Devon, which runs along the Blackdown Hills to the south of the tow ...

to Captain Charles Reginald Thompson Hopkinson of the

East Surrey Regiment The East Surrey Regiment was a line infantry regiment of the British Army in existence from 1881 until 1959. The regiment was formed in 1881 under the Childers Reforms by the amalgamation of the 31st (Huntingdonshire) Regiment of Foot, the 70th ...

, who was killed in action in September 1914, a month after the

British entry into World War I Britain entered World War I on 4 August 1914 when the King declared war after the expiration of an ultimatum to Germany. The official explanation focused on protecting Belgium as a neutral country; the main reason, however, was to prevent a Fren ...

, and Beryl Mary Stewart.''Somerset, England, Church of England Baptisms, 1813–1914''

Military career

Educated at Haileybury, Hopkinson was commissioned in to the

Royal Tank Corps The Royal Tank Regiment (RTR) is the oldest tank unit in the world, being formed by the British Army in 1916 during the First World War. Today, it is the armoured regiment of the British Army's 12th Armoured Infantry Brigade. Formerly known as t ...

in 1930. He served in

as Commanding Officer of the

44th Royal Tank Regiment The 44th Royal Tank Regiment (44 RTR) was an armoured regiment of the British Army, which was part of the Royal Tank Regiment, itself part of the Royal Armoured Corps that saw active service in World War II. The 44th RTR was formed before Worl ...

and then, briefly, as acting Commander of 4th Armoured Brigade in early 1945. He became

Commanding Officer The commanding officer (CO) or sometimes, if the incumbent is a general officer, commanding general (CG), is the officer in command of a military unit. The commanding officer has ultimate authority over the unit, and is usually given wide latitu ...

1st Royal Tank Regiment The 1st Royal Tank Regiment (1 RTR) was an Armoured warfare, armoured regiment of the British Army. It is part of the Royal Tank Regiment, itself part of the Royal Armoured Corps and operationally under 12th Armoured Infantry Brigade (United Kingd ...

in 1952. He was appointed Commander of 33rd Armoured Brigade in 1953, General Officer Commanding (GOC) of the 4th Division in 1957 and Director of the

Royal Armoured Corps The Royal Armoured Corps is the component of the British Army, that together with the Household Cavalry provides its armour capability, with vehicles such as the Challenger 2 Tank and the Scimitar Reconnaissance Vehicle. It includes most of the A ...

in 1959 before retiring in 1962.Army Commands

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hopkinson, Gerald British Army major generals British Army personnel of World War II Royal Tank Regiment officers Companions of the Order of the Bath Companions of the Distinguished Service Order Officers of the Order of the British Empire People educated at Haileybury and Imperial Service College Recipients of the Military Cross 1910 births 1989 deaths People from Wellington, Somerset Military personnel from Somerset