Cedric Popkin
Cedric Popkin | |
---|---|
Birth name | Cedric Bassett Popkin |
Born | Sydney, Australia | June 20, 1890
Died | January 26, 1968 Tweed Heads, Australia | (aged 77)
Buried | Mt. Thompson Memorial Gardens, 27°31′32.9″S 153°04′39.9″E / 27.525806°S 153.077750°EBrisbane, Australia |
Allegiance | Australia |
Service | Australian Army |
Years of service | 1916–1919 |
Rank | Sergeant |
Unit | 24th Machine Gun Company |
Battles | |
Awards | Victory Medal |
Other work | Carpenter, postmaster |
Cedric Bassett Popkin (20 June 1890 – 26 January 1968) was an Australian soldier considered most likely to have killed
Early life
Cedric Bassett Popkin was born in Sydney on 20 June 1890 and was a carpenter by trade. When he enlisted in the AIF, in Brisbane on 6 May 1916, he was living in Palmwoods, Queensland.
First World War
Entry into service
Popkin left Australia on 20 October with the 7th Machine Gun Company on
Death of the Baron
At about 10:35 a.m. on 21 April, 1918, Richthofen, flying his red
The RAF credited the "kill" to Brown, although it is now considered all but certain by historians, doctors, and ballistics experts that Richthofen was actually killed by an AA machine gunner firing from the ground. The identity of the person who shot the Baron remains uncertain; .303 ammunition was the standard ammunition for all machine guns and rifles used by
Wounded in action
On 19 June 1918, Popkin received a shrapnel wound to his right leg, which was later amputated. He was invalided back to Australia on 5 January 1919, arriving on 7 March.[3]
Later life
After being discharged from the army, Popkin worked once more as a carpenter. He spent most of the remainder of his life in Tweed Heads and the Northern Rivers region of New South Wales. In 1964, he told the Brisbane Courier-Mail: "I am fairly certain it was my fire which caused the Baron to crash, but it would be impossible to say definitely that I was responsible ... As to pinpointing without doubt the man who fired the fatal shot, the controversy will never actually be resolved."[1] He died in Tweed Heads on 26 January 1968 at the age of 77. He is buried in the Mt. Thompson Memorial Gardens at Brisbane, Australia.
Planned memorials
A memorial to Popkin is being planned for the hinterland town of Palmwoods by the local Returned and Services League (RSL) sub-branch. Another one is being planned by residents of the village of Tyalgum, where he served as postmaster.
References
- ^ a b "Who Killed the Red Baron". NOVA. 2003. WGBH Educational Foundation.
- ^ a b "Death of the Red Baron". Unsolved History. 2002. Discovery Channel.
- ^ "POPKIN Cedric Bassett". Discovering Anzacs. National Archives of Australia. Retrieved 30 July 2021.
Further reading
- "Cedric Popkin and the Red Baron". Tweed Regional Museum. 10 April 2018. Retrieved 30 July 2021.
- Hall, Peter (14 February 2015). "Cedric Popkin, the Aussie credited with bringing down ace wartime pilot The Red Baron to be honoured at Palmwoods". The Courier-Mail. Retrieved 30 July 2021.
- Leopold, Todd (19 October 2015). "Who really killed the Red Baron? Account offers new wrinkle". CNN. Retrieved 30 July 2021.
- Marciniak, Catherine (21 April 2018). "NSW town claims local World War I hero Cedric Popkin brought down German air ace". ABC North Coast. Retrieved 30 July 2021.
- Mustermann, Erik (14 May 2016). "New eye-witness account sheds light on who killed the Red Baron". Warhistoryonline.com. Retrieved 30 July 2021.