Lieutenant-Colonel J.R. Hopkins
14th Canadian Hussars
It was when I was an observer and we were being attacked by a German aircraft. My piloted manoeuvred us into a position where I could use my rear gun. The German plane burst into flames and we saw a man fall out with his clothes all burning … I was very pleased it was him and not us.
(Times Colonist, 14 Feb 1976, 47)
Born on 26 October 1886 in London, England, John Richard Hopkins was a Saskatchewan lawyer and decorated veteran of the Royal Flying Corps. A law student in Swift Current before the First World War, he had enlisted with the Royal Canadian Dragoons in September 1914, took a commission with the 18th Royal Scots in 1915 and transferred to the air force in 1916. As an observer and pilot he earned the Distinguished Flying Cross.
World War Graphic History 