HOPGOOD, Jack Richard
| Service Number: | 26149 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 1 April 1940 |
| Last Rank: | Corporal |
| Last Unit: | No. 1 Squadron, Australian Flying Corps |
| Born: | Mount Gambier, South Australia, Australia, 22 January 1920 |
| Home Town: | Mount Gambier, Mount Gambier, South Australia |
| Schooling: | Mount Gambier, South Australia |
| Occupation: | Mechanic |
| Died: | Natural Causes, Mount Gambier, South Australia, Australia, 14 October 2021, aged 101 years |
| Cemetery: |
Carinya Gardens Cemetery, Mount Gambier, South Australia |
| Memorials: | Ballarat Australian Ex-Prisoners of War Memorial, Mount Gambier Independent Order of Rechabites 1939-1945 Honour Roll |
World War 2 Service
| 1 Apr 1940: | Enlisted Royal Australian Air Force, Aircraftman, 26149, RAAF Ground Training Schools, Adelaide | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 Apr 1940: | Enlisted Royal Australian Air Force, Corporal, 26149 | |
| 7 Dec 1941: | Involvement Royal Australian Air Force, Corporal, 26149, No. 1 Squadron (RAAF), Malaya/Singapore | |
| 15 Feb 1942: | Imprisoned Malaya/Singapore | |
| 15 Feb 1946: | Discharged Royal Australian Air Force, Corporal, 26149, No. 1 Squadron, Australian Flying Corps |
Best Friends and Community Icons
By Bec Whetham
Saturday 15 August 2020
Jack Hopgood and Charlie Miller have spent their 75 years after WWII as best friends and community 'icons'
In many ways, Charlie Miller and Jack Hopgood could not be more different. Charlie, a strong left-winger from Melbourne, fired on Japanese troops from a Spitfire during the war. Jack, a self-described "non-entity" from the bush, spent three years in Japanese captivity.
Jack Hopgood and Charlie Miller both served in the Royal Australian Air Force in World War II.
The two veterans met in Mount Gambier after the war and have remained close friends for 75 years.
Both were recently awarded the Order of Australia for their lifetime of service to different causes.
Despite their differences, the two formed a strong friendship after World War II that would span 75 years and leave a lasting legacy in their community.
Jack Hopgood, now aged 100, returned to his hometown of Mount Gambier in South Australia's south-east in 1945.
"When I came back I was still a teenager. I went as a teenager and I came back knowing about the same," Mr Hopgood said.
He had just spent three years in Java, Indonesia and Singapore as a prisoner of war.
In one diary entry he recalls arriving at a prisoner camp in Batavia (Jakarta) where six Australians had just been beheaded in front of 300 Australians.
"They were sadistic and had no degree of predictability," Mr Hopgood said.
By the time freedom came in August 1945, he was not in a hurry to get home.
"I had certain apprehensions. I was very young when I left here, I was 20 and got married. I hadn't seen my wife in a number of years," Mr Hopgood said.
He was offered an air ticket to Australia but opted for the long boat home on the Duntroon.
In comparison, he refers to his friend Charlie Miller's experience of the same war as a "Cook's tour".
Four years his junior, Mr Miller enlisted after Mr Hopgood.
"I was chosen to be a pilot and then I became a flying instructor for six months or so," Mr Miller said.
While Jack and Charlie are most recognised as two of Mount Gambier's remaining WWII veterans, it was not the war that brought them together.
Soon after returning to Mount Gambier, a neighbour of Jack's brought the two veterans together by inviting them to join the Masonry, where they met.
"There was no real allegiance at all until this neighbour across the road brought us together," Mr Hopgood said.
Thanks to a mutual love of red wine and banter, that first meeting developed into a lifelong friendship.
"We tease him [Charlie] unbearably but he just shrugs it off. Fortunately he doesn't take umbrage," Mr Hopgood said.
"Our friendship is one that an outsider would consider, 'how can they bloody get on together'?," Mr Miller said.
One thing they had in common was their incredible work ethic.
Mr Miller's father, a business broker, moved the family to Mount Gambier to run a bakery in an effort to survive the depression.
"He'd never touched a piece of dough in his life," Mr Miller said.
Concerned about his father's inexperience, Charlie put university aside to take up the business after the war.
"The town grew and the bakery grew," Mr Miller said.
"At least half of Mount Gambier had the name Miller on their breakfast table."
The Hopgood name was also well-known.
After returning to Mount Gambier, Jack joined his father's automotive business as a mechanic.
An engineering and business brain, he would go on to run the business as well as chair the Mount Gambier Garages Association.
As well as running their own businesses and starting their own families, Jack and Charlie committed any free time they had to endless causes, boards and committees.
"If anything started, it would need to be Jack or myself or one or two others," Mr Miller said.
The two were recently awarded the Order of Australia for their lasting commitment to Mount Gambier.
Over the years, Mr Hopgood has chaired the Boy Scouts Association, Mount Gambier TAFE and been a founding member of Mount Gambier's Chamber of Commerce, which Charlie Miller is also a life member of.
"We both had strong ideas but the wonderful thing about it was that those ideas were similar ideas," Mr Miller said.
Together they wanted to help build and develop Mount Gambier's business and economy after the depression. Which they did.
Both were president of the local RSL at different times.
One cause close to both their hearts was veteran housing.
"Settlement schemes after World War I were an absolute disaster because the poor fellows were allotted blocks of land which wouldn't grow a pebble," Mr Miller said.
"We were very anxious to make sure that the returned fellows were looked after and we were instrumental, Jack and I, in establishing the RSL as a very strong organisation."
Mr Miller has maintained a close relationship with Legacy for many years.
"He took under his wing the widows of this area and looked after them for goodness knows how many years," Mr Hopgood said.
Many have been influenced by Mr Miller through his involvement with school councils (Mount Gambier High School has a building named after him), the local forestry industry, Duke of Edinburgh youth award, finding housing for disadvantaged persons, and establishing a public library — just to name a few.
Jack Hopgood realises his life could have been very different.
"If I hadn't volunteered then I don't know what would have happened. It would have been a different story all together," Mr Hopgood said.
That said, he has accepted his life's course and even returned to Japan, twice.
"Anger and I don't get on too well. I think it's a waste of good time," Mr Hopgood said.
War seems all but a distant memory for the pair now.
"We've forgotten. It's a different world, a different world all together," Mr Miller said.
"I have no regrets, I've had an extraordinary life in many, many ways."
Known and loved by many in Mount Gambier, the community knows they cannot have a Jack and Charlie forever.
Mayor of Mount Gambier and friend to Jack and Charlie, Lynette Martin, is not looking forward to that.
"Suddenly that piece of Mount Gambier's history will disappear and that is sad but they really will leave such a great legacy," Ms Martin said.
"They are the two most amazing gentlemen."
Submitted 19 October 2020 by Trevor Thomas
Biography contributed
Biography written by Bethany Yates, St Martin's Lutheran College SA attached as a document. Winning entry for 2021 Premier's Anzac Spirit School Prize.
Biography contributed by Cornerstone College
Charles and Adelaide Beatrice welcomed their only son on January 22, 1920, and then later a daughter whom they named Joan in a small house in Mount Gambier. The family business owned by Charles led Jack to pursue a career as a mechanic to inherit the company after his father's death. He attended Mount Gambier High School and continued his studies to a higher degree. He studied maths, physics, English and drawing at an intermediate level. He experienced five years as a mechanic operating at two workshops. The family followed the Methodist faith, a common belief at the time. Jack was described as having light brown hair, blue eyes and was approximately 6 feet tall.
Jack did not apply to be trained as a pilot as he believed having a dental plate would not be accepted in the Australian Air Force. He later recognised that people with this defect were acknowledged and changed his application from a ground mechanic to a pilot. A week before leaving to serve in the war on Australia's behalf, he married Ms Jean Munro Baird, becoming Jack's next of kin. He was installed on April 1, 1940, becoming Corporal of the 1 Squadron RAAF, leaving his family business and new wife, Jean, to fight for his country.
Two days before the Japanese attack on Malaya, the RAAF Hudsons stationed at RAF Kota Bharu, close to the Malaya-Thailand border. The group spotted the Japanese invasion fleet but was commanded to hold off on offensive operations. On the evening of December 7, 1941, the Japanese force began making shore dockings at Kota Bharu, close to the airfield. No. 1 Squadron, the first aircraft to start a conflict in the Pacific War, began a series of attacks against the Japanese forces at around 2:00 am. The Hudson sunk a Japanese transport ship and injured two others for losing multiple Hudson members. No. 1 Squadron suffered severe damage during the Japanese invasion and later fled to Australia; many of its members, including the CO, were taken as POWs, and more than half died while held captive. The unit was reorganised in 1943 by being named the Australian-built Bristol Beaufort light Bombers.
Jack Hopgood was held captive by the Japanese for three years in Singapore, Java and Thailand. In one diary entry, he describes visiting a prisoner camp in Batavia (Jakarta), where six Australians had been beheaded in front of 300 other prisoners. Mr Hopgood claimed that the Japanese lacked mercy and were sadistic. His family were told he was presumed dead as his squadron did not return as planned. When he was released from the camp in August 1945, he did not return home urgently. He was offered to travel home by plane or the Duntroon ship, which he chose the boat. "I had certain apprehensions. I was very young when I left here. I was 20 and got married. I had not seen my wife in several years," Mr Hopgood recalled. Returning home gave Jack the prospect of continuing his work as a mechanic at his father's automotive business, and he later ran the company after his father's death. Returning to his hometown encouraged him to participate in community service. He became the local chairman of the Motor Trade Association, then later became the Chamber of Commerce in 1948. He and his wife Jean became parents to four children: Peter, Andrew, Duncan and Cathryn.
Jack and his friend Charlie Miller who also contributed to the war, had similar interests when helping the community. Hopgood chaired the Boy Scouts Association for several years and was committed to funding the Mount Gambier Chamber of Commerce, as did Mr Miller. "We both had strong ideas, but the wonderful thing about it was that they were similar," Mr Miller confirmed.
Hopgood recognised that this life journey could have been different but did not regret his decision to join the military. "I have no regrets. I have had an extraordinary life in many ways". Jack accepted the traumatic experiences as an opportunity to share his story and express his gratitude. "If I had not volunteered, then I do not know what would have happened. It would have been a different story altogether," Jack explains. He returned to Japan twice and stated, "Anger and I do not get along well" he expressed that he does not hold any resentment, "I think it is a waste of good time". The friends explain that the war is behind them, declaring, "We have forgotten. It is a different world, a different world altogether". Hopgood was granted a Medal of the Order of Australia in 2018 for decades of community service within his hometown. At the ceremony, he remarked, "Well, when you have lived as long as me, you would hope that you have achieved something". Many admired all he endured in the war but respected his attitude towards life.
The community of Mount Gambier recognise them as "two of the most amazing gentlemen". On October 14, 2021, Hopgood died at age 101 due to natural causes and was buried at Carinya Gardens Cemetery, Mount Gambier. Jack made a memorable contribution to a town that cared for him greatly and will be remembered as a brave, courageous and inspiring soldier.
Bibliography
HOPGOOD JACK RICHARD : Service Number - 26149 : Date of Birth - 22 Jan 1920 : Place of Birth - MOUNT GAMBIER SA : Place of Enlistment - ADELAIDE : Next of Kin - HOPGOOD JEAN (n.d.), National Achieves of Australia, accessed 17 April 2023. https://recordsearch.naa.gov.au/SearchNRetrieve/Interface/ViewImage.aspx?B=4568083&S=1&R=0
Mount Gambier mourns Jack Hopgood (22 October 2021), Border Watch, accessed 1 May 2023. https://borderwatch.com.au/news/2021/10/22/mount-gambier-mourns-jack-hopgood/
The South Eastern Times (Millicent, SA : 1906 - 1954) (1 November 1940) ‘Marriages’, MOUNT GAMBIER AND DISTRICT. World War Two Service (4 May 2023), DVA's Nominal Rolls, accessed 1 May 2023. https://nominal-rolls.dva.gov.au/veteran?id=873533&c=WW2
Whetham B (15 August 2020) HOPGOOD, Jack Richard, Virtual War Memorial, accessed 17 April 2023. https://vwma.org.au/explore/people/533544
Whetham B (15 August 2020) Jack Hopgood, 100, and Charlie Miller, 96, have spent their 75 years after WWII as best friends and community 'icons', ABC news, accessed 17 April 2023. https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-08-15/the-unlikely-friendship-between-veterans-jack-and-charlie/12523732
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