John Hackett (British Army officer)

Sir John Winthrop Hackett
Gen. Sir John Hackett
Nickname	Shan
Born	5 November 1910 Perth, Western Australia
Died	9 September 1997(1997-09-09) (aged 86)
Allegiance	United Kingdom
Service/branch	British Army
Years of service	1933 - 1968
Rank	General
Unit	8th King's Royal Irish Hussars
Commands held	4th Parachute Brigade 20th Armoured Brigade 7th Armoured Division Commander-in-Chief British Army of the Rhine
Battles/wars	Second World War
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

This article is about the British Army officer and author, for information about the musician, see John Hackett (musician).

General Sir John Winthrop Hackett GCB, CBE, DSO & Bar, MC (5 November 1910 – 9 September 1997) was an Australian-born British soldier, author and university administrator.

Early life

Hackett, who was nicknamed "Shan", was born in Perth, Western Australia. His Irish Australian father, Sir John Hackett (1848–1916), originally from Tipperary, was a newspaper proprietor and politician and his mother was Deborah Drake-Brockman (1887–1965) — later Lady Deborah Hackett, Lady Deborah Moulden and Dr Deborah Buller Murphy — a director of mining companies. John Hackett junior's maternal grandparents were prominent members of Western Australian society: Grace Bussell, famous for rescuing shipwreck survivors as a teenager and Frederick Slade Drake-Brockman, a prominent surveyor and explorer.

He received secondary schooling at Geelong Grammar School in Victoria, Australia, 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.

He served in Mandate Palestine and was mentioned in despatches in 1936 and then with the Trans-Jordan Frontier Force from 1937–1941 and was twice mentioned in despatches.

Second World War

Hackett fought with the British Army in the Second World War Syria-Lebanon campaign, where he was wounded and as a result of his actions was awarded the Military Cross. 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. 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.

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.

St Elizabeth Hospital

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.

Post-war career

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. He attended university at Graz as a postgraduate in Post Mediæval Studies. 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. In 1958 he became Commandant of the Royal Military College of Science, Shrivenham, and was promoted to Lieutenant General in 1961. He became General Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Northern Ireland Command in 1961. In 1963, he was appointed to Ministry of Defence as Deputy Chief of the General Staff, 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, in 1965, give him command of the British Army of the Rhine and the parallel command of NATO's Northern Army Group, 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.

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 the Third World War based on a Soviet Army invasion of West Germany in 1985. 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."

Publications

(Note: authorship dates may not be reliable and are for guidance only)

• Popski's Private Army, 1950, ISBN 0-304-36143-7 (Foreword only)
• The Profession Of Arms, 1963, ISBN 0-02-547120-1
• I Was A Stranger, 1978, ISBN 0-395-27087-1
• The Third World War, 1978, ISBN 0-425-04477-7
• Third World War: Lecture, 1979 ISBN 0-85287-132-5
• Arnhem Doctor, 1981, ISBN 0-85613-324-8 (Foreword only)
• The Third World War: The Untold Story, 1982, ISBN 0-283-98863-0
• The Middle East Commandos, 1988, ISBN 0-7183-0645-7 (Foreword only)
• Warfare In the Ancient World, 1989, ISBN 0-283-99591-2
• The Desert Rats: History of the 7th Armoured Division, 1990, ISBN 1-85367-063-4 (Introduction only)
• The Devil's Birthday: Bridges to Arnhem, 1944, 1992, ISBN 0-85052-352-4
• The History of the Glider Pilot Regiment: An Official History, 1992, ISBN 0-85052-326-5
• One Night In June, 1994, 1853104922 (Introduction only)
• Map of the D-Day Landings, 1994, ISBN 0-7028-2668-5 (Foreword only)
• To Save A Life, 1995, ISBN 1-898094-10-1

More information

• The Biography of General Sir John "Shan" Hackett GCB DSO MC, by Roy Fullick 2003, ISBN 0-85052-975-1

External links

• Biographical details, obituaries and photographs
• Account of Sir John Hackett's part in the Battle of Arnhem

Military offices
Preceded by Kenneth Cooper	GOC 7th Armoured Division 1956–1958	Succeeded by Geoffrey Musson
Preceded by Douglas Packard	General Officer Commanding the British Army in Northern Ireland 1961–1963	Succeeded by Richard Anderson
Preceded by Sir John Anderson	Deputy Chief of the Imperial General Staff 1963–1966	Succeeded by Sir Charles Harington
Preceded by Sir William Stirling	Commander-in-Chief of the British Army of the Rhine 1966–1968	Succeeded by Sir Desmond Fitzpatrick
Academic offices
Preceded by Sir Peter Noble	Principal of King's College London 1968–1975	Succeeded by Sir Richard Way