Captain Anthony Hopkinson

Captain Anthony Hopkinson was born on March 18 1935. He served with the 1st (Guards) Independent Parachute Company, The Parachute Regiment, in 1957 through to 1960 and was involved in the IS deployment to Cyprus during the EOKA campaign. He and his Troop were Parachuted covertly into the Troodos mountains (see the book Guardsmen Of The Sky). However, Cyprus was put under a forty-eight hour curfew, causing the paratroopers to be "taken off chasing terrorists, for escort duties, road blocks, etc, much to the annoyance of Captains Lane-Fox and [Anthony] Hopkinson who had been dropped, with some secrecy, in the mountains". The Company were then suddenly withdrawn into camp on 14 July and  moved to Jordan by 1000 hours on 17 July because of the possibility of a coup against King  Hussein of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan. Their duties included protecting Amman airfield after deplaning there.

Captain Hopkinson described the flight to Jordan:

"The Company flew with the Brigade Commander and his staff in the first aircraft. Apparently no one had asked Israel for permission to fly through its airspace, so once this first flight got through, all others were stopped. We waited several hours on the tarmac at Amman, the Brigade Commander and us, for the rest of the force to arrive. It was potentially quite an interesting situation, I suppose. Having relinquished their Land Rovers the Company was now mounted in Champs."

He further elaborated on the Company's role in Jordan in a letter to J.N.P. Watson, the author of Guardsmen of the Sky:

"Although the Parachute Brigade was sent from Cyprus to Jordan to protect Hussein (known as the 'PLK', Plucky Little King) there was no trouble during our three months there, except in the early days when a bomb exploded at the British Council Library. The only thing damaged was a book on beekeeping, which says something about our cultural influence in the Middle East. The Company at one time was given the task of rescuing the PLK, if by chance he needed it. He had several palaces around the city where he spent the night, such as his mother's home, but he only decided each night where he would sleep so we had to know their locations and routes to and from them. I remember that towards the end of our stay he gave a reception for unit commanders and any Old Harrovians (we had Douglas Prior, SG) and these were each given a watch, known to the Company as the Hashemite Never Right, after the much advertised H. Samuel Ever Right". 

Anthony originally joined the Scots Guards after leaving school, serving for 12 years. He advanced from the rank of Officer Cadet to 2nd Lieutenant on 19 December, 1953 whilst still in the Scots Guards, being issued with a new service number (432474). He was then made Lieutenant on a short service commission on September 12 1955. He became a full Lieutenant on April 27, 1957. After that he did his two tours with 16 Parachute Brigade and 1st (Guards) Independent Company, The Parachute Regiment. Lieutenant Hopkinson became a Captain on March 18, 1962. Finally, he retired on August 26, 1965, receiving a gratuity.

In civilian life he was involved in various businesses including as a consultant in computerised accounts. He was also a painter and printmaker who was a founder of the Cambridge Original Printmakers exhibition, and regularly participated in Cambridge Open Studios. He was a member of the Guards Parachute Association. 

He died in 2023.