Fred Hopkinson (1923 - 1943)

Born 11 Dec 1923 in Halifax, Yorkshire, England

Ancestors

Died 28 May 1943 at age 19 in Trenton, Hastings, Ontario, Canada

Problems/Questions Profile manager: Nigel Hopkinson [send private message]

Biography

• 11 Dec 1922 Birth: Fred Hopkinson birth recorded with Halifax Registrar 1Q 1923. Mother maiden name Gaynor. Exact DoB from RAF Casualty Report. He was the son of Fred Hopkinson and Elizabeth (Gaynor) Hopkinson.

**** NLH Note: From Halifax Evening Courier article, he was born at 13 Bailey Hall View, Halifax, moving to Buttershaw, Bradford in 1931, where he attended Grange High School. Prior to volunteering for the RAF in January 1942, he worked in the Xray department in Bradford Royal Infirmary.

• Apr 1943 RAF Commission: Halifax Evening Courier of 26 Apr 1943 reports that Pilot Officer Fred Hopkinson of 9 Queen Street, Buttershaw, Bradford received his wings and commission after 8 months of training at Saskatchewan, Canada. He will remain in Canada as service instructor.
• 28 May 1943 KIA in WWII: Pilot Officer Fred Hopkinson (RAF-VR) killed 28 May 1943 - died of multiple head injuries in an aircraft accident. Son of Fred and Elizabeth Hopkinson of 9 Queen St., Buttershaw, Bradford, Yorkshire. Buried in Trenton (St George’s) Cemetery, Hastings County, Ontario, Canada. Trenton, close to Toronto was location of the Central Flying School, used to train pilots for WWII.

**** NLH Note: Fred was on a Pilot Instructor's course at the RCAF station in Trenton, Ontario. The RCAF casualty report indicates DoB 11 Dec 1923. He was flying in a Harvard two seater training plane when it crashed on the banks of Trenton River about 10 miles from the airfield. Fred had extensive head and skeletal injuries and appears to have died at the crash site. A later report indicates the plane was on an unauthorized low level flight path along the Trenton River when it hit a tree (rumored to have hit fog while doing a fly pass of a girl's house).

Sources

• Birth Registration: "England & Wales Births 1837-2006"
  Volume: 9A; Page: 599
  FindMyPast Image - FindMyPast Transcription
  
• 1943 Newspaper Article: https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0003295/19430426/110/0004
• Death Certificate: "Ontario, Canada, Deaths and Deaths Overseas, 1869-1949"
  Archives of Ontario; Toronto, Ontario, Canada; Collection: Registrations of Deaths, 1943; Certificate Number: 028305
  Ancestry Sharing Link - Ancestry Record 8946 #4084023
  
• Memorial: "UK, Commonwealth War Graves, 1914-1921 and 1939-1947"
  Commonwealth War Graves Commission; Author: Peter Singlehurst; Series Title: British Commonwealth War Graves Registers, 1914-1918; Archive Name: London, United Kingdom
  Ancestry Sharing Link - Ancestry Record 2706 #377557
  
• Casualty Investigation: "Canada, War Graves Registers (Circumstances of Casualty), 1914-1948"
  Library and Archives Canada; Ottawa, Ontario, Canada; War Graves Registers: Circumstances of Death; Record Group Number: RG 150, 1992-93/314; Volume Number: 285
  Ancestry Sharing Link - Ancestry Record 1973 #59814
  
• Allied Airman Roll of Honor: "UK, World War II Index to Allied Airmen Roll of Honour, 1939-1945"
  Naval and Miltiary Press; Uckfield, East Sussex, England; Airmen Died in the Second World War 1939-45
  Ancestry Record 62274 #57731