Deputy Chief of the General Staff
Commander-in-Chief British Army of the Rhine
Commander of the Order of the British Empire
Distinguished Service Order & Bar
Military Cross
Mention in Despatches (2)
| Sir John Winthrop Hackett | |
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| 5 November 1910 – 10 September 1997 (aged 86) | |
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| Nickname | Shan |
| Place of birth | Perth, Western Australia |
| Allegiance | United Kingdom |
| Service/branch | British Army |
| Rank | General |
| Unit | 8th King's Royal Irish Hussars |
| Commands held | 4th Parachute Brigade Deputy Chief of the General Staff Commander-in-Chief British Army of the Rhine |
| Battles/wars | World War II |
| Awards | Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath Commander of the Order of the British Empire Distinguished Service Order & Bar Military Cross Mention in Despatches (2) |
| Other work | Author |
General Sir John Winthrop Hackett GCB, CBE, DSO & Bar, MC (5 November 1910–10 September 1997) was an Australian-born British soldier, author and university administrator.
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Hackett, who was nicknamed "Shan", was born in Perth, Western Australia. His Irish Australian father, John Winthrop Hackett Senior (1848-1916), originally from Tipperary,[1] was a newspaper man and politician, and his mother was Deborah Drake-Brockman (also known as Lady Deborah Hackett, Lady Deborah Moulden and Dr Deborah Buller Murphy, 1887-1965), a prominent mining company director.
John Hackett Junior received secondary schooling at Geelong Grammar School, after which he travelled to London to study painting at the Central School of Art. He then studied Greats and Modern History at New College, Oxford. As his degree was not good enough for an academic career, Hackett joined the British Army and was commissioned into the 8th King's Royal Irish Hussars in 1933, having previously joined the Supplementary Reserve of Officers in 1931.[2]
He served in Palestine and was Mentioned in Dispatches in 1936[3] and then with the Trans-Jordan Frontier Force from 1937-1941 and was twice mentioned in dispatches.[4]
Hackett fought with the British Army in World War II in the Syria-Lebanon campaign, where he was wounded and as a result of his actions was awarded the Military Cross[5]. In the North African campaign he commanded C Squadron of the 8th Hussars (his parent unit) and was wounded again when his Stuart tank was hit during the battles for Sidi Rezegh airfield. He was severely burnt when escaping the stricken vehicle.[6] He received his first Distinguished Service Order for this event.
Whilst recuperating at GHQ in Cairo he was instrumental in the formation of the Long Range Desert Group, the Special Air Service and Popski's Private Army.[7]
In 1944, Hackett raised and commanded the 4th Parachute Brigade for the Allied assault on Arnhem, in Operation Market Garden. In the battle at Arnhem Brigadier Hackett was severely wounded in the stomach, was captured and taken to the St. Elizabeth Hospital in Arnhem. A German doctor at the Hospital wanted to administer a lethal injection to Hackett, because he thought that the case was hopeless. However he was operated on by Lipmann Kessel, who with superb surgery managed to save the brigadier's life.
After a period of recuperation, he managed to escape with the help of the Dutch underground. Although he was unfit to be moved, the Germans were about to move him to a POW camp. He was taken by 'Piet van Arnhem', a resistance worker from Ede, and driven to Ede. They were stopped on the way but Hackett had extra bloody bandages applied, to make him look even worse than he was. Piet told the checkpoint that they were taking him to hospital. They were let through despite the hospital being in the opposite direction, from which they had just come.
He was hidden by a Dutch family called de Nooij who lived at No. 5 Torenstraat in Ede, an address that no longer exists due to development. The de Nooij family nursed the brigadier back to health over a period of several months and he then managed to escape again with the help of the underground. He remained friends with the de Nooij family for the rest of their lives, visiting them immediately after they were liberated, bearing gifts. Hackett wrote about this experience in his book I Was A Stranger in 1978. He received his second DSO for his service at Arnhem.[8]
He returned to Palestine in 1947 where he assumed command of the Trans-Jordan Frontier Force. Under his direction the force was disbanded as part of the British withdrawal from the region.[9] He attended university at Graz as a postgraduate in Post Medieval Studies.[10] After attending Staff College in 1951 he was appointed to command the 20th Armoured Brigade and, on being promoted to Major General, assumed command of the 7th Armoured Division.[11] In 1958 he became Commandant of the Royal Military College of Science, Shrivenham, 1958-1961 and was promoted to Lieutenant General in 1961;[12] General Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Northern Ireland Command, 1961-1963;[13] In 1963, he was appointed to Ministry of Defence as Deputy Chief of the General Staff, (1963-1964) responsible for forces organisation and weapon development and became the leading figure in the reorganisation of the Territorial Army, something which made him unpopular. It was a controversial decision therefore to promote him to general and give him command of the British Army of the Rhine and the parallel command of NATO's Northern Army Group, (1965-1966) but his ability to speak several languages made him a natural choice, as did his friendship with foreign soldiers such as General Kielmansegg of the Bundeswehr. In 1968 he wrote a highly controversial letter to The Times, critical of the British Government's apparent lack of concern over the strength of NATO forces in Europe but signed the letter as a NATO officer, not as a British commander.[14]
After retirement from the Army, Sir John continued to be active in several areas. From 1968 to 1975 he was Principal of King's College London. He proved to be a popular figure, addressing gatherings of students on several occasions, and attending at least one NUS demonstration for higher student grants.
In 1978, Sir John wrote a novel, The Third World War: August 1985, which was a fictionalized scenario of World War III based on a Soviet Army invasion of West Germany in 1985. The novel was highly successful, though criticized for being dry and impersonal. It was followed in 1982 by The Third World War: The Untold Story, which elaborated on the original, including more detail from a Soviet perspective.
His (British) military decorations included the Knight Grand Cross of the Bath, Commander of the British Empire, Distinguished Service Order and Bar, Military Cross, Twice Mentioned in Dispatches.
His obituary in the Times called him a man of "intellect and prodigious courage."[15]
(Note: authorship dates may not be reliable and are for guidance only)
| Academic offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Sir Peter Noble |
Principal of King's College London 1968–1975 |
Succeeded by Sir Richard Way |