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 and Bar, MC, (5 November 1910-10 September 1997) was an Australian-born British soldier and author. is the 309th day of the year (310th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1910 (MCMX) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will display calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Friday [1] of the 13-day-slower Julian calendar). ... is the 253rd day of the year (254th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1997 (MCMXCVII) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will display full 1997 Gregorian calendar). ... The Perth skyline viewed from the Swan River This article is about the metropolitan area of Perth, Western Australia. ... This does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... The 8th Kings Royal Irish Hussars was a cavalry regiment in the British Army, first raised in 1693. ... The British 4th Parachute Brigade was a brigade in the British Army during the Second World War. ... There have been two formations named British Army on the Rhine (BAOR). ... Commanders Badge of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V. The Order includes five classes in civil and military divisions, in order of seniority: Knight or Dame Grand Cross... Commanders Badge of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V. The Order includes five classes in civil and military divisions, in order of seniority: Knight or Dame Grand Cross... The Military Cross (MC) is the third level military decoration awarded to officers and (since 1993) other ranks of the British Army and formerly also to officers of other Commonwealth countries. ... DSO medal The Distinguished Service Order (DSO) is a military decoration of the United Kingdom, and formerly of other Commonwealth countries, awarded for meritorious or distinguished service by officers of the armed forces during wartime, typically in actual combat. ... Badge of a Companion of the Order of the Bath (Military Division) The Most Honourable Order of the Bath (formerly The Most Honourable Military Order of the Bath)[1] is a British order of chivalry founded by George I on 18 May 1725. ... Badge of a Companion of the Order of the Bath (Military Division) The Most Honourable Order of the Bath (formerly The Most Honourable Military Order of the Bath)[1] is a British order of chivalry founded by George I on 18 May 1725. ... Badge of a Companion of the Order of the Bath (Military Division) The Most Honourable Order of the Bath (formerly The Most Honourable Military Order of the Bath)[1] is a British order of chivalry founded by George I on 18 May 1725. ... John Hackett is British flautist and brother of guitarist Steve Hackett. ... Badge of a Companion of the Order of the Bath (Military Division) The Most Honourable Order of the Bath (formerly The Most Honourable Military Order of the Bath)[1] is a British order of chivalry founded by George I on 18 May 1725. ... Commanders Badge of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V. The Order includes five classes in civil and military divisions, in order of seniority: Knight or Dame Grand Cross... DSO medal The Distinguished Service Order (DSO) is a military decoration of the United Kingdom, and formerly of other Commonwealth countries, awarded for meritorious or distinguished service by officers of the armed forces during wartime, typically in actual combat. ... The Military Cross (MC) is the third level military decoration awarded to officers and (since 1993) other ranks of the British Army and formerly also to officers of other Commonwealth countries. ... is the 309th day of the year (310th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1910 (MCMX) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will display calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Friday [1] of the 13-day-slower Julian calendar). ... is the 253rd day of the year (254th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1997 (MCMXCVII) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will display full 1997 Gregorian calendar). ... The British Army is the land armed forces branch of the British Armed Forces. ...

Early life

Hackett, who was nicknamed "Shan", was born in Perth, Western Australia. His Irish-born father, John Winthrop Hackett Senior (1848-1916), 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. The Perth skyline viewed from the Swan River This article is about the metropolitan area of Perth, Western Australia. ... John Winthrop Hackett Senior (4 February 1848 – 19 February 1916) journalist and public benefactor. ...

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 completed Greats and Modern History at New College, Oxford University. As his degree was not good enough for an academic career, Hackett joined the 8th King's Royal Irish Hussars. The term, secondary school, refers to an institution where the third stage of schooling, known as secondary education, takes place. ... Geelong Church of England Grammar School is an Anglican co-educational boarding and day-boarding Public School. ... This article is about the capital of England and the United Kingdom. ... Central Saint Martins at Holborn The Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design, (or Central Saint Martins) is one of the leading colleges of art and design in England. ... and of the New College College name New College of St Mary Latin name Collegium Novum Oxoniensis/Collegium Sanctae Mariae Wintoniae Named after Mary, mother of Jesus Established 1379 Sister college Kings College, Cambridge Warden Prof. ... The 8th Kings Royal Irish Hussars was a cavalry regiment in the British Army, first raised in 1693. ...

World War II

Hackett fought with the British Army in World War II in the Syria-Lebanon campaign, where he was wounded, and in the North African campaign, where he was wounded again when his Stuart tank was hit. The British Army is the land armed forces branch of the British Armed Forces. ... Combatants Allied powers: China France Great Britain Soviet Union United States and others Axis powers: Germany Italy Japan and others Commanders Chiang Kai-shek Charles de Gaulle Winston Churchill Joseph Stalin Franklin Roosevelt Adolf Hitler Benito Mussolini Hideki Tōjō Casualties Military dead: 17,000,000 Civilian dead: 33,000... Combatants Australia U.K. British India British Palestine  Czechoslovakia Government-in-Exile Free France Vichy France Commanders Henry Maitland Wilson Henri Dentz Strength Approximately 35,000 troops Australian: 18,000 British: 9,000 Indian: 2,000 Free French: 5,000 Between 35,000 and 40,000 troops French: 8,000... During World War II, the North African Campaign, also known as the Desert War, took place in the North African desert from September 13, 1940 to May 13, 1943. ... The Light Tank M3 was an American light tank of World War II in use with British and Commonwealth forces prior to the entry of the USA into the European theatre. ...

St Elizabeth Hospital

In 1944, Hackett commanded the 4th Parachute Brigade in 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 that he was. Piet told the checkpoint that they were taking him to hospital and they were let through, but curiously enough the hospital was in the opposite direction, from where they had just come. Image File history File links Metadata Size of this preview: 800 × 600 pixelsFull resolution (2048 × 1536 pixel, file size: 817 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) Deben Dave 10:18, 19 May 2007 (UTC) I, the copyright holder of this work, hereby grant the permission to copy, distribute and/or modify... Image File history File links Metadata Size of this preview: 800 × 600 pixelsFull resolution (2048 × 1536 pixel, file size: 817 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) Deben Dave 10:18, 19 May 2007 (UTC) I, the copyright holder of this work, hereby grant the permission to copy, distribute and/or modify... The British 4th Parachute Brigade was a brigade in the British Army during the Second World War. ... Arnhem ( ) (South Guelderish: Èrnem) is a city and municipality in the east of the Netherlands, and capital of province Gelderland. ... Combatants United Kingdom United States Canada Poland Germany Commanders Bernard Montgomery Brian Horrocks Roy Urquhart James M. Gavin Maxwell Taylor Stanislaw Sosabowski Walter Model Wilhelm Bittrich Kurt Student Strength 35,000 20,000 Casualties 11,377 dead,wounded or missing 6,450 Captured 2,000 Killed 6,000 Wounded Operation... Brigadier (IPA pronunciation: ) is a military rank, the meaning of which has a considerable variation. ... Lipmann Kessel, MBE, MC, FRCS 1914 – 5 June 1986, was a famous orthopaedic surgeon, often known by his nickname of Lippy. ...

He was hidden by a very brave 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 slowly 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 they were liberated, bearing gifts. Hackett wrote about this experience in his book I Was A Stranger in 1978.

Post War Career

General Hackett's postwar career included, Commandant, Royal Military College of Science, Shrivenham, 1958-1961; General Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Northern Ireland Command, 1961-1963;^[1] Deputy Chief of the General Staff, 1963-1964, and Commander in Chief, British Army of the Rhine, 1965-1966. He later became Commander, Northern Army Group, in NATO. Shrivenham is a large village and civil parish in the English county of Oxfordshire (though formerly in Berkshire), adjacent to the border with Wiltshire. ... There have been two formations named British Army on the Rhine (BAOR). ... NATO 2002 Summit in Prague. ...

In 1978, General Hackett 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. Year 1978 (MCMLXXVIII) was a common year starting on Sunday (link displays the 1978 Gregorian calendar). ... World War III (abbreviated WWIII), or the Third World War, is a term used to describe a hypothetical conflict on the scale of World War I and World War II, or even larger, such as a nuclear holocaust. ... For other organizations known as the Red Army, see Red Army (disambiguation). ... Year 1985 (MCMLXXXV) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link displays 1985 Gregorian calendar). ...

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. This article concerns British and Commonwealth of Nations orders and decorations awarded by the British Sovereign. ... The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by King George V. The Order includes five classes in civil and military divisions; in decreasing order of seniority, these are Knight Grand Cross or Dame Grand Cross (GBE) Knight Commander... DSO medal The Distinguished Service Order (DSO) is a military decoration of the United Kingdom, and formerly of other Commonwealth countries, awarded for meritorious or distinguished service by officers of the armed forces during wartime, typically in actual combat. ... The Military Cross (MC) is the third level military decoration awarded to officers and (since 1993) other ranks of the British Army and formerly also to officers of other Commonwealth countries. ... Mentioned in Dispatches (MID) is a military award for gallantry or otherwise commendable service. ...

Publications

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

References

External links

• Biographical website on General Sir John Hackett
• Account of Sir John Hackett's part in the Battle of Arnhem