Henry Russell Hopley

In memoriam

4324 New Zealand Army Service Corps

From New Zealand Electronic Text Collection, The Official History of New Zealand in the Second World War, Petrol Company, Chapter 8, Crete Page 113: "On Tuesday, 20 May, the show really opened, shortly after sunrise on a bright, cloudless day. And from that time the "all clear" was not heard again on Crete. The attack found Petrol Company well prepared. Battle positions had been carefully sited, the procedure for manning them rehearsed. As the first enemy aircraft zoomed overhead, shedding parachutists and towing troop-laden gliders, men from the five sections moved to their defence posts without confusion or delay." Page 114: For approximately six hours the hill was subject to heavy mortar and machine-gun fire, during which time many casualties were inflicted on our section. Among these were, Killed: Capt McDonagh, Sgt Hopley, Dvrs E. T. H. Toner, G. Parnell, E. Isherwood; Wounded: Lieut McPhail, 2/Lieut Jackson, Sgt McNae, L/Cpl R. Orr, Dvrs W. Dunn, W. Smithson, B. Standen. page 117: Petrol Company was now without officers in the Galatas sector, so CSM James took control of the Company and directed operations with outstanding ability. His right-hand man was Sergeant Hopley of B Section, whose conduct, until he too was killed, has been described as "particularly cool and daring". When B Section's machine-gun detachment was surrounded by paratroopers early on 20 May, Hopley had asked permission to go to their aid, but was refused. Again, when it was found that in the excitement of the first German landings, the road block near the cookhouse had not been placed in position, Second-Lieutenant Macphail and Sergeant Hopley rectified this, despite the attentions of low-flying and machine-gunning aircraft.

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