Summary
Admiral Sir Frank Henry Edward Hopkins, KCB, DSO, DSC (23 June 1910 – 14 April 1990) was a senior officer in the Royal Navy.
Sir Frank Hopkins | |
|---|---|
| Born | 23 June 1910 Wallington, Surrey |
| Died | 14 April 1990 (aged 79) Hawaii, United States |
| Allegiance | United Kingdom |
| Service/ | Royal Navy |
| Years of service | 1927–1967 |
| Rank | Admiral |
| Commands held | Portsmouth Command Royal Naval College, Dartmouth HMS Ark Royal HMS Myngs 830 Naval Air Squadron |
| Battles/wars | Second World War Korean War |
| Awards | Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath Distinguished Service Order Distinguished Service Cross Mentioned in dispatches (2) |
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Educated at the Nautical College at Pangbourne in Berkshire, Hopkins joined the Royal Navy in 1927.[1]
Hopkins served in the Second World War, initially on the staff of the naval observer school at Ford in Sussex.[1] In 1940, he transferred to 826 Naval Air Squadron and then to RAF Coastal Command.[1] Then in 1941, he took command of 830 Naval Air Squadron, sinking large quantities of German shipping in the Mediterranean.[1] He went on to join the British Air Commission in Washington DC, before becoming an observer with the United States Pacific Fleet.[1]
Hopkins also served in the Korean War as Air Commander in the aircraft-carrier HMS Theseus.[1] He was appointed Deputy Director, Naval Air Organization and Training Division, in 1951, and then went on to be Commander of HMS Myngs, before being made Director, Naval Air Warfare Division.[1] He went on to be Captain of HMS Ark Royal, before becoming Commandant of the Royal Naval College, Dartmouth, in 1958.[1] In 1960, he became Flag Officer, Flying Training, and in 1962 he was made Flag Officer, Aircraft Carriers.[1]
Hopkins was appointed Deputy Chief of the Naval Staff and Fifth Sea Lord in 1963.[2] He was one of the admirals who threatened to resign in protest over the decision by the Labour Secretary of State for Defence, Denis Healey, to cancel the CVA-01 aircraft carrier programme.[1] His last role was as Commander-in-Chief, Portsmouth, in 1966; he retired in 1967.[1]
Family edit
In 1933, Hopkins married Joan Mary Standring; they had one daughter.[1] Following a divorce, he married Lois Barbara Cook in 1939; there were no children.[1] Following the death of his second wife, he married Georgianna Priest in 1988.[1]