Jack Hinton
Jack Hinton, New Zealand Military Forces | |
---|---|
Years of service | 1939–45 |
Rank | Sergeant |
Unit | 20th Battalion |
Battles/wars | Second World War
|
Awards | Mentioned in Despatches |
Other work | Hotel manager Racing steward |
John Daniel Hinton,
Born in 1909, Hinton was a foreman at the
Early life
John Hinton, known as Jack, was born in
Hinton spent most of the next several years on the
In the 1930s, Hinton found regular employment in the
Second World War
At the outbreak of war, Hinton enlisted in the
Hinton was not always respectful of military authority. Shortly after the New Zealanders arrived in Egypt, he was commanding a squad practising on a rifle range when visited by the division's commander, Major General
Battle of Greece
In March 1941, the 2nd New Zealand Division was one of several Allied units deployed to Greece to help prepare for an expected invasion by Italian and German troops. When the invasion began on 6 April 1941, the 20th Battalion briefly saw action at Thermopylae before being withdrawn,[6] but Hinton missed this fighting as he was with the division's reinforcement battalion, which was initially based in Athens before it moved to the port of Kalamata. It had been decided that the Allied forces would abandon Greece; at Kalamata, the reinforcement battalion, along with several thousand other, mainly Australian, troops, was awaiting evacuation. On 28 April, the New Zealanders were waiting for transport when advance units of the German 5th Panzer Division began to attack the town with machine-gun fire and self-propelled 6-inch guns.[8]
Hearing gunfire in the distance, Hinton, wanting to assist in the defence of the Allied positions, went to the headquarters of Brigadier Leonard Parrington, the officer in command of the evacuation. Hinton vehemently protested, in strong language, an order from Parrington to surrender. On being threatened with a court-martial for speaking to a senior officer in such a manner, he issued his own threat of proceedings against Parrington for defeatist talk and then left to determine for himself the situation.[8] Other men of the reinforcement battalion were making preparations to move into the town and face the Germans.[9] In the meantime, Hinton had collected his own party of 12 soldiers and led them into the town but came under fire. Ignoring an order from a nearby officer to retreat, he rushed forward to the nearest enemy gun and, hurling two grenades, killed the crew. He continued towards the town's waterfront, clearing out two light machine-gun nests and a mortar with grenades, then dealt with the garrison of a house where some of the enemy were sheltering. He then assisted in the capture of an artillery piece, but shortly after was shot in the stomach, immobilised and captured, one of about 6,000 Allied soldiers made a prisoner of war (POW).[8]
Officially listed as missing in action until August 1941, Hinton spent several weeks in a hospital near Athens until he was well enough to be transferred to a POW camp in Germany. In the meantime, a recommendation for the Victoria Cross (VC) for Hinton was dispatched by Major George Thomson, a medical officer who had witnessed his actions in Kalamata. After an investigation, a decision was made to award Hinton the VC, which was duly gazetted on 14 October 1941.[8] The citation read as follows:
On the night of 28th–29th April, 1941, during the fighting in Greece, a column of German armoured forces entered Kalamata; this column, which contained several armoured cars, 2" guns, and 3" mortars, and two 6" guns, rapidly converged on a large force of British and New Zealand troops awaiting embarkation on the beach. When the order to retreat to cover was given, Serjeant Hinton, shouting "to Hell with this, who'll come with me," ran to within several yards of the nearest gun; the gun fired, missing him, and he hurled two grenades which completely wiped out the crew. He then came on with the bayonet followed by a crowd of New Zealanders. German troops abandoned the first 6" gun and retreated into two houses. Serjeant Hinton smashed the window and then the door of the first house and dealt with the garrison with the bayonet. He repeated the performance in the second house and as a result, until overwhelming German forces arrived, the New Zealanders held the guns. Serjeant Hinton then fell with a bullet wound through the lower abdomen and was taken prisoner.
— London Gazette, No. 35311, 14 October 1941.[10]
Prisoner of war
The announcement of Hinton's VC was made within a week of Lieutenant Charles Upham, another member of the 20th Battalion, receiving the same award for his actions during the fighting in the Battle of Crete. This prompted a joke that circulated within the battalion: "Join the 20th and get a VC."[11] While a prisoner of war at Stalag IX-C, Hinton made several escape attempts. He was being punished with solitary confinement for one such attempt when his VC was gazetted. He was paraded before his fellow prisoners and presented with a VC ribbon by the camp's commandant before being returned to his cell to complete his punishment.[12]
In 1944, even though a prisoner of war, Hinton was contacted by the
By April 1945, the Allied advance into Germany threatened Hinton's POW camp. The Germans evacuated the camp but Hinton, feigning sickness, remained behind. Once the guards had left, he was able to find keys to the gates and let himself out. He soon made contact with soldiers of the United States 6th Armored Division. Dressed in civilian clothes, he was initially treated with suspicion but soon convinced the Americans of his identity. He borrowed an American uniform and went forward to the frontline with the 44th Infantry Division and assisted in the capture of three villages and rounding up of German POWs.[14] Senior American officers soon found out about Hinton's presence with their troops and sent him to England, where he arrived on 12 April 1945.[15]
Hinton remained in England for over three months, awaiting repatriation to New Zealand.
Later life and legacy
After returning home, Hinton initially was indecisive about what to do with his life. Like many of his fellow soldiers who had returned home, he struggled to adapt to civilian life. He was also extremely uncomfortable with the public attention he received because of his status as a VC recipient.
During his time as a hotelier, Hinton made several overseas trips, the first of which was to attend the
Hinton retired in 1980, and he and Molly moved to Ashburton in the South Island. He spent much of his retirement fishing, and in 1990 shifted to Christchurch to be nearer to Molly's relatives.[25] He died on 28 June 1997, and was honoured with a military funeral, attended by 800 people. The Chief of General Staff, Major General Piers Reid, delivered a eulogy. The New Zealand Parliament honoured him with a minute's silence at a sitting on 1 July 1997. He was survived by his second wife; he had no children from either of his marriages. He is buried in Christchurch, in the Returned Servicemen's Association section of the Ruru Lawn Cemetery. He is remembered with a plaque in his birthplace of Colac Bay, and the restaurant at the Christchurch Returned Servicemen's Association is named for him.[26]
Hinton's VC was loaned by his family to the
Notes
- ^ McDonald 1997, pp. 18–20.
- ^ McDonald 1997, pp. 25–26.
- ^ a b c McDonald 1997, pp. 32–36.
- ^ a b McDonald 1997, p. 39.
- ^ McDonald 1997, pp. 46–47.
- ^ a b c d Harper & Richardson 2007, pp. 205–6.
- ^ McDonald 1997, p. 55.
- ^ a b c d Harper & Richardson 2007, pp. 207–10.
- ^ McDonald 1997, p. 82.
- ^ "No. 35311". The London Gazette (Supplement). 14 October 1941. p. 6027.
- ^ Pringle & Glue 1957, pp. 160–61.
- ^ Harper & Richardson 2007, pp. 210–11.
- Evening Post. Vol. CXXXVIII, no. 89. 12 October 1944. p. 8. Retrieved 6 June 2017.
- ^ McDonald 1997, pp. 149–51.
- ^ McDonald 1997, pp. 152–53.
- ^ McDonald 1997, pp. 154–55.
- ^ a b Harper & Richardson 2007, p. 212.
- ^ McDonald 1997, p. 161.
- ^ McDonald 1997, pp. 167–68.
- ^ McDonald 1997, pp. 170–73.
- ^ McDonald 1997, p. 173.
- ^ McDonald 1997, pp. 177–78.
- ^ McDonald 1997, p. 180.
- ^ McDonald 1997, pp. 182–83.
- ^ McDonald 1997, pp. 184–85.
- ^ a b Harper & Richardson 2007, p. 213.
- ^ Cheng, Derek (December 2007). "Army medal theft 'insult' to our nation's heritage". NZ Herald. Retrieved 2 December 2007.
- ^ "Medals stolen from Waiouru Army Museum recovered". NZ Herald. February 2008. Archived from the original on 1 January 2016. Retrieved 22 May 2012.
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References
- ISBN 978-1-86950-650-6.
- McDonald, Gabrielle (1997). Jack Hinton V.C.: A Man Amongst Men. Auckland, NZ: David Ling. ISBN 0-908990-43-X.
- Pringle, D. J. C.; Glue, W. A. (1957). 20 Battalion and Armoured Regiment. OCLC 4373441.
External links
- Sergeant J.D. Hinton in The Art of War exhibition at the UK National Archives
- New Zealand Troops who have won the Victoria Cross at the Wayback Machine (archived 26 October 2009) (brief biography details)
- An official history of the Kalamata battle
- "Obituary---Jack Hinton VC". 1 July 1997. Archived from the original on 24 July 2011. New Zealand Parliamentary Debate proceedings: speakers Prime Minister Jim Bolger and other MPs.
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