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 |
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