WW2 privately named medal group x 4 – 1939-1945 Star, Africa Star, Defence Medal & War Medal 1939-1945 – 2nd Lieutenant KENNETH GREER HOPWOOD – Lincolnshire Regiment

WW2 privately named medal group x 4 – 1939-1945 Star, Africa Star, Defence Medal & War Medal 1939-1945 – 2nd Lieutenant KENNETH GREER HOPWOOD – Lincolnshire Regiment

£120.00
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WW2 privately named medal group x 4 – 1939-1945 Star, Africa Star, Defence Medal & War Medal 1939-1945 – 2nd Lieutenant KENNETH GREER HOPWOOD – Lincolnshire Regiment
  • WW2 privately named medal group x 4 – 1939-1945 Star, Africa Star, Defence Medal & War Medal 1939-1945 – 2nd Lieutenant KENNETH GREER HOPWOOD – Lincolnshire Regiment
  • WW2 privately named medal group x 4 – 1939-1945 Star, Africa Star, Defence Medal & War Medal 1939-1945 – 2nd Lieutenant KENNETH GREER HOPWOOD – Lincolnshire Regiment
  • WW2 privately named medal group x 4 – 1939-1945 Star, Africa Star, Defence Medal & War Medal 1939-1945 – 2nd Lieutenant KENNETH GREER HOPWOOD – Lincolnshire Regiment
  • WW2 privately named medal group x 4 – 1939-1945 Star, Africa Star, Defence Medal & War Medal 1939-1945 – 2nd Lieutenant KENNETH GREER HOPWOOD – Lincolnshire Regiment
  • WW2 privately named medal group x 4 – 1939-1945 Star, Africa Star, Defence Medal & War Medal 1939-1945 – 2nd Lieutenant KENNETH GREER HOPWOOD – Lincolnshire Regiment
  • WW2 privately named medal group x 4 – 1939-1945 Star, Africa Star, Defence Medal & War Medal 1939-1945 – 2nd Lieutenant KENNETH GREER HOPWOOD – Lincolnshire Regiment
  • WW2 privately named medal group x 4 – 1939-1945 Star, Africa Star, Defence Medal & War Medal 1939-1945 – 2nd Lieutenant KENNETH GREER HOPWOOD – Lincolnshire Regiment
  • WW2 privately named medal group x 4 – 1939-1945 Star, Africa Star, Defence Medal & War Medal 1939-1945 – 2nd Lieutenant KENNETH GREER HOPWOOD – Lincolnshire Regiment
  • WW2 privately named medal group x 4 – 1939-1945 Star, Africa Star, Defence Medal & War Medal 1939-1945 – 2nd Lieutenant KENNETH GREER HOPWOOD – Lincolnshire Regiment
  • WW2 privately named medal group x 4 – 1939-1945 Star, Africa Star, Defence Medal & War Medal 1939-1945 – 2nd Lieutenant KENNETH GREER HOPWOOD – Lincolnshire Regiment
WW2 privately named medal group x 4 – 1939-1945 Star, Africa Star, Defence Medal & War Medal 1939-1945 – 2nd Lieutenant KENNETH GREER HOPWOOD – Lincolnshire Regiment

WW2 privately named medal group x 4 – 1939-1945 Star, Africa Star, Defence Medal & War Medal 1939-1945 – 2nd Lieutenant KENNETH GREER HOPWOOD – Lincolnshire Regiment

£120.00

Reference: MM-MED-0006

 

You are looking at a privately named set of 4 x WW2 medals, 1939-1945 Star, Africa Star, Defence Medal & War Medal 1939-1945, all inscribed K G HOPWOOD.

 

KENNETH GREER HOPWOOD, the son of HENRY and GERTRUDE HOPWOOD, was born at Grimsby on the 8th of June 1913. In 1921, he appears alongside his parents in the census record, with his father described as a steam trawler owner within the fishing trade, and KENNETH next appears in the 1939 Register, again listed alongside his parents, but with his own profession recorded as a steam fishing vessel owner.

 

On the 4th of December 1938, it appears that KENNETH earned a flying qualification at Grimsby Aero Club, with the certificate taken on a ‘Swallow – Cirrus Minor 90hp’, a 1930s two-seater training monoplane aircraft, and at the time, he was described as company director, which would suggest he was running his own fishing business or was involved in the fishing industry with his family. 

 

As for KENNETH’S WW2 military service, the records are limited, but we do know that on or around the 13th of May 1944, he was promoted from cadet to 2nd Lieutenant in the Lincolnshire Regiment, and he was then promoted to the rank of Lieutenant (war-substantive) on the 13th of November that same year.

 

‘War-Substantive’ and ‘Emergency Commission’ usually refers to a temporary officer rank held by those recruited into the army from civilian life, or from rank and file soldiers already serving in the army.

 

No record can be found for KENNETH HOPWOOD prior to his promotion from cadet to 2nd Lt in 1944, but we know he was discharged from the army in November 1945, so within weeks of war ending, and we know he then applied for his medals, which included the ‘Africa Star’, and at the side of ‘Africa’ in the medal application form is the term ‘1st’, which would appear to be a reference to the ‘1st Army’ clasp that was attached to the Africa Star ribbon indicating that the recipient had served with the British First Army in Tunisia and Algeria between the 8th of November 1942 and the 12th of May 1943.

 

The criteria for the award of the Africa Star with ‘1st Army’ clasp tells us KENNETH was serving with the army in North Africa prior to his promotion to 2nd Lt in 1944, and accepting that he was in the Lincolnshire Regiment, then it is likely he was serving with the 6th Battalion, because they were the only battalion of the regiment who saw service with the ‘First Army’ in North Africa.

 

The 6th Battalion of the Lincolnshire Regiment arrived in Tunisia in 1943, serving with the British First Army in the final stages of the North African campaign, and later that year, they were sent to Italy, arriving at Salerno in the September and being involved in the ‘Battle of Monte Cassino’ in February 1944.

 

Had KENNETH served in Italy, he would have been entitled to the award of the ‘Italy Star’, but he did not apply for this medal after the war, so on the face of it, he served in North Africa only, before entering officer cadet training, that usually lasted for a period of 20 weeks, and then being promoted.

 

KENNETH GREER HOPWOOD died at Grimsby in 2006, at the age of 93 years.

 

Seller note 1 – KENNETH’S military service, as described above, is not guaranteed, it has been pieced together from an assessment of the limited records and historical facts.  

 

Seller note 2 – These four medals were originally purchased without ribbons, and modern replacement ribbons and a replacement numeral ‘1’ denoting the ‘1st Army’ have been provided. Please bear in mind the reference to the ‘1st Army’ is an assumption made from the information provided in the recipients post-war medal application form.   

 

 

Postage

Postage within the United Kingdom is £4.85 via Royal Mail Tracked 48 with signature.

International postage is charged at a flat rate of £14.95 using a tracked service.

If the actual postage cost within the UK or to the destination country is lower than the amount charged, any overpayment will be refunded after dispatch.

 

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