Profile

HOPPING, Francis Charles
(Service number 58534)

The wedding of Albert & Maude Hopping, 1919 — Pictured are (from left to right): Frank (Francis) Hopping, Albert Hopping, Maude (nee Campbell), and Eleanor Newton (nee Hopping). (Courtesy of S Templeton )

Aliases	Frank
First Rank	Private	Last Rank	Private

Birth

Date	23 July 1896	Place of Birth	Christchurch

Enlistment Information

Date	21 May 1917	Age	20 years 10 months
Address at Enlistment	Gapes Valley, Geraldine
Occupation	Farm labourer
Previous Military Experience	2nd Regiment (serving)
Marital Status
Next of Kin	Mrs Catherine HOPPING (mother), Gapes Valley, Geraldine
Religion	Roman Catholic
Medical Information	Height 5 feet 5 inches. Weight 149 lbs. Chest measurement 34-38 inches. Complexion fair. Eyes blue. Hair fair. Sight - both eyes 6/6. Hearing & colour vision both normal. Limbs well formed. Full perfect movement of all joints. Chest well formed. Heart & lungs normal. No illnesses. Not free of hernia, varicocele, varicose veins. Slight haemorrhoids. Good bodily & mental health. No slight defects. No fits. Class A.

Military Service

Served with	NZ Armed Forces	Served in	Army
Military District

Embarkation Information

Body on Embarkation	New Zealand Expeditionary Force
Unit, Squadron, or Ship	29th Reinforcements Canterbury Infantry Regiment, C Company
Date	15 August 1917
Transport	Ruahine
Embarked From	Wellington	Destination	Glasgow, Scotland

Other Units Served With
Last Unit Served With	Canterbury Infantry Regiment

Military Awards

Campaigns	Western European
Service Medals	British War Medal; Victory Medal
Military Awards

Award Circumstances and Date

No information

Prisoner of War Information

Date of Capture
Where Captured and by Whom
Actions Prior to Capture
PoW Serial Number
PoW Camps
Days Interned
Liberation Date

Discharge

Date	16 June 1919	Reason	On termination of period of engagement.

Hospitals, Wounds, Diseases and Illnesses

Post-war Occupations

Wool classer

Death

Date	6 February 1964	Age	67 years
Place of Death	Christchurch
Cause
Notices
Memorial or Cemetery	Ruru Lawn Cemetery, Christchurch
Memorial Reference	Block 10, Plot 274
New Zealand Memorials

Biographical Notes

Francis Charles HOPPING was the second son of Joseph and Catherine (née SMITH) HOPPING. Like his brother Albert, Frank was educated at Woolston School before transferring to Gapes Valley School when the family moved in mid 1909. He left for camp on 25 June 1917. Francis returned to New Zealand on the "Carpentaria", due on 14 May 1919 at Lyttelton. Francis was married twice - first to Annie McKay, then later to Elsie Lorraine Wood.

Sources

Auckland War Memorial Museum Cenotaph Database [17 July 2014]; NZ Defence Force Personnel Records (Archives NZ ref. AABK 18805 W5541 0056604) [14 June 2016]; Press, 24 December 1907, 13 July 1915, 5 May 1919, Star, 9 May 1917, Timaru Herald, 9 May 1917, 25 June 1917 [x 2], 10 August 1917, 2 February 1918, 2 May 1919 (Papers Past) [20 September 2013; 01 September 2014; 26 September 2015]; NZ BDM Indexes (Department of Internal Affairs) [18 July 2014]; School Admission Records (Canterbury Branch NZSG & South Canterbury Branch NZSG) [18 July 2014]; Ruru Lawn Cemetery, Christchurch, burial record (Christchurch City Council) [26 September 2015]; Probate record (Archives NZ/FamilySearch) [24 February 2016]; SCroll submission from S Templeton, September & 1 December 2020; SCRoll web submission from P Paterson, 24 September 2021

External Links

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