(iv), Nearly fifty years later, Popkin was less sure about events of 21st April and perhaps had forgotten his report to his unit commander. On 2 March 1918 Cedric was promoted to Training Sergeant, shortly before the company photograph was taken . If he had been my dearest friend, I could not have felt greater sorrow., National Museum of the United States Air Force, Test & Research Pilots, Flight Test Engineers, National Aeronautics and Space Administration. Blond, silk-soft hair, like that of a child, fell from the broad high forehead. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2010. As to pinpointing without doubt the man who fired the fatal shot, the controversy will never actually be resolved. In his Official History, war historian Charles Bean suggests that it was probably Cedric Popkin who killed the Red Baron. That's something model Paulina Porizkova opened up about on Sunday when she shared on Instagram that her son graduated from college. Cedric Bassett Popkin, Service No 424, from Palmwoods, Queensland, is now considered the person most likely to have killed German flying ace Manfred von Richthofen, also known as the "Red Baron" on 21 April 1918. Together they have two kids; Croix, born in 2000, and Lucky Rose, born in 2003. Roy Brown Many experts believe that the shot came from Popkin. It is based on a single documentary made by "revisionist PBS TV NOVA aired a documentary on Oct 7 2003 entitled Who Killed the Red Baron? Because of the type of weapons that where involved, we can say that it was probably a Vickers MG that fired the shot. Sergeant Cedric Popkin is second from right in middle row.In the foreground are two Vickers machine guns on tripods. As soon as this risk was over, I opened fire a second time and observed at once that my fire took effect. AWM No. "The only claimant at that range is Popkin. Nova sought the opinion of Norman Franks, author and aviation historian who when asked 'What do we need to look at?' The Pilot (whom I was subsequently told was Captain Baron Von Richthoven (sic)), I saw had at least three machine gun bullets through his body, one in his ribs at the side, and a couple through his chest, and I consider he died as a result of these wounds from the time he was hit till he hit the ground, a matter of 2 or 3 seconds. They disembarked at Devonport, England on 20 December 1916 and were transferred to the Australian training camp at Perham Downs on Salisbury Plains on 29 December 1916. If I could I would gladly have brought him back to life, but that is somewhat different than shooting a gun. (Sgd.) Norman Franks, an author and aviation historian, told NOVA. Blond, silk-soft hair, like that of a child, fell from the broad high forehead. I immediately got my gun into action and waited for our own plane to pass me, as the planes were close together, and there was a risk of hitting both. These facts, and the angle at which the bullet passed through Richthofens body, suggest that he was killed by a long-distance, low velocity shot from a ground-based weapon. Popkin is believed to have shot down Baron Manfred von Richthofens plane. . Running to the wreckage, Fowler saw bullet wounds in Richthofen's chest, and was convinced he had been killed by the gunners. WebCedric Popkin left Australia on 20 October 1916 with the 6th Reinforcements, 7th Machine Gun Company on HMAT Port Lincoln. For conspicuous gallantry and devotion to duty. Template Design Joomla Templates GavickPro. The three planes flew over Morlancourt Ridge, in the 4th Divisions sector, and Popkin using a Vickers machine gun and other Australian machine gunners and riflemen also fired at Richthofen. 20 Jun 1890 - St Leonards, New South Wales, Australia, Jan 1968 - Tweed Heads, New South Wales, Australia. I could no longer look him in the face. "If the bullet had struck von Richthofen at close range, I would have expected a more explosive type wound," Peter Franks, a ballistics expert, told NOVA . No special action is required regarding these talk page notices, other than regular verification using the archive tool instructions below. His brother Harry M. Popkin was the executive producer of Million Dollar Productions, a partnership that included Ralph Cooper. Search for yourself and well build your family tree together, Welsh and English (London): Anglicized form of, Do not sell or share my personal information. He said, 'There's your man'.". 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WebEat Healthy !!!! A student at the same school, Cedric was reported as having a "bad" character who had been before the Bench of Magistrates previously. Autopsies revealed that the wound which killed the Baron was caused by a bullet moving in an upward motion. About 10.45am on the 21st April, 1918, one of our Aeroplanes was being engaged by a German Aeroplane and was being driven down. "Fragments flew from the plane and it lessened speed. He was initially taken to the 4th Australian Field Ambulance located at The Chateau, Les Alencons, France. He passed away on Jan 1968 in Tweed Heads, New South Wales, Australia. In turn, the Baron was chased by another Canadian pilot, Captain Roy Brown. I handed my gun over to the No. His Fokker was not damaged by the landing. Cedric received a severe gunshot wound to his right leg on 19 June and was moved to 4th Field Ambulance. WebEat Healthy !!! Five years later Cedric was living alone at Irving Street, Torwood in Brisbane and working as a carpenter when he met and married Nellie Ellen Bull on 10 March 1913. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2010. This database contains family trees submitted to Ancestry by users who have indicated that their tree can only be viewed by Ancestry members to whom they have granted permission to see their tree. In terms of his AWM E01716 Group portrait of officers and NCOs of 24th Machine Gun Company date 8 March 1918 in France. "Now the evidence is that the wounds were actually probed by the medical staff after he had been shot down and they were actually able to follow the bullet path through the body. "Because of the nature of the ammunition and how it performs within body tissue, we can determine in these circumstances at what approximate range the shot was fired. Popkin was an experienced AA gunner, the volume of fire from the Vickers was far greater (at least 450 rounds per minute) than the bolt-action Lee-Enfield rifles (up to 30 rounds per minute) used by the infantry, and Popkin was the only machine gunner known to have fired at Richthofen from the right, and from a long distance, immediately before he landed.Private Alfred Fowler, with the 40th Australian Battalion, witnessed the Red Baron's death. The fatal bullet passed clean through the Red Baron and of course could never be recovered. Kanowna, arriving in Australia on 7 March 191914. "Because of the nature of the ammunition and how it performs within body tissue, we can determine in these circumstances at what approximate range the shot was fired. Cedric's company was based at Camiers in France, the base depot for the Machine Gun Corps where he attended training school. Despite treatment and rest Cedric had to be evacuated to England, so on 5th July 1918 he was transported on the H.S. These were made by two different Australian antiaircraft crews who were stationed on the Morlancourt Ridge. The story is told in the following section. "Given the evidence and the claimants, we can say that it was a long-range shot, that is, over 600 yards," says Peter Franks. "In our view and final analysis, the best candidate for bringing down von Richthofen was Cedric Popkin, Australian Sergeant machine gunner," Norman Franks told NOVA. An older sister Gladys Lilian also served in WW1, as an Australian army nurse. Sgt Popkin 2nd from right middle row. Researched and written by Christine Stratigos for Tweed Regional Museum. Home; About; Products; sucesos de las islas filipinas was written by Cedric Popkin By April, 1918, Cedric had achieved the rank of sergeant in a gunnery regiment and found himself stationed in the Somme area of It came down a few hundred yards away." He appeared so small to me, so delicate. On 3 March 1918 he was promoted to Training Sergeant and in April to Sergeant when Sergeant McPhee went missing in action7. Who Killed the red Baron? BeFOre WATchiNG - PBS This database contains family trees submitted to Ancestry by users who have indicated that their tree can be viewed by all Ancestry subscribers. With a feeling of shame, a kind of anger against myself moved in my thoughts, that I had forced him to lay there. Whilst in training camp at Perham Downs on Salisbury Plains, Cedric was reprimanded for insulting language to a NCO, which turned out to be his one and only military offence. [1][2], He managed African American movie theaters in Los Angeles. His troubled youth behind him, by 1908 Cedric was working as a builder at Mullumbimby in northern NSW. We said, 'Yes.' ", "So we asked our gun expert, what do we need to look at?" This database contains family trees submitted to Ancestry by users who have indicated that their tree can be viewed by all Ancestry subscribers.These trees can change over time as users edit, remove, or otherwise modify the data in their trees. Topics: world-war-1, history, air-force, lismore-2480, france, fingal-head-2487, tyalgum-2484. 3 Squadron, Australian Flying Corps. These trees can change over time as users edit, remove, or otherwise modify the data in their trees. Cedric Popkin hit the enemy flying ace from the ground. His troubled youth behind him, by 1908 Cedric was working as a builder at Mullumbimby in northern NSW. "Given the evidence and the claimants, we can say that it was a long-range shot, that is, over 600 yards," says Peter Franks. The couple moved to South Murwillumbah where Cedric found work as a tobacconist and had two sons, Roland and Michael. The 24th Machine Gun Company War Diary for April 1918 includes a statement by Sgt Popkin: "I was the Sergeant in charge of a Machine Gun detachment at J 19 d. Norman Franks, an author and aviation historian, told NOVA. Following their marriage in Queensland and birth of their first daughter Gladys Lilian, Dan William Bassett Popkin and his wife Lilian moved to St Leonards in Sydney where a daughter Sophia Edith was born in 1887 quickly followed by Marjory in 1888 . Lieut. Popkin Within a few years the family had moved to Grafton in the northern rivers district of NSW. Hall, Peter. One witness, Gunner George Ridgway, stated that when he and other Australian soldiers reached the plane, Richthofen was still alive but died moments later. Therefore it is impossible to conduct ballisctics tests. That man was Australian gunnery sergeant Cedric Popkin, who, according to NOVA, was firing a machine gun at the Baron's right side from the ground, about 600 yards away. M.G.Coy for April 1918, AWM4 24/24/8. He recalls delivering a message to a gunner at the 11th Battalion, who opened fire on Richthofen's plane and claims to have seen the bullets pierce the cockpit. I handed my gun over to the No. Popkin was an experienced AA gunner, the volume of fire from the Vickers was far greater (at least 450 rounds per minute) than the bolt-action Lee-Enfield rifles (up to 30 rounds per minute) used by the infantry, and Popkin was the only machine gunner known to have fired at Richthofen from the right, and from a long distance, immediately before he landed. Running to the wreckage, Fowler saw bullet wounds in Richthofen's chest, and was convinced he had been killed by the gunners. Leo C. Popkin - Wikipedia He recalls delivering a message to a gunner at the 11th Battalion, who opened fire on Richthofen's plane and claims to have seen the bullets pierce the cockpit. General (3 matching dictionaries) Popkin, popkin: Wordnik [ home, info ] Popkin: Wiktionary [ home, info ] Popkin: Rhymezone [ home, info ] Slang (1 matching dictionary) Because of the type of weapons that where involved, we can say that it was probably a Vickers MG that fired the shot. Cedric Popkin died in 1968 at Tweed Heads NSW. Editors have permission to delete these "External links modified" talk page sections if they want to de-clutter talk pages, but see the RfC before doing mass systematic removals. The Courier - Mail, Feb 15, 2015, pp. Discover your family history in millions of family trees and more than a billion birth,marriage, death, census, and miltary records. Cedric's sister Edith Sophia lived with them for a short time around 1958 and they remained at Fingal Head until at least 1963. Roland G Popkin, 762984, a law student, enlisted in 1916 in 28th Battalion, Artists' Rifles. It is now considered all but certain by historians, doctors, and ballistics experts that von Richthofen was killed by an AA machine gunner firing from the ground, for a number of reasons. I have just modified 2 external links on Cedric Popkin. Cedric received a severe gunshot wound to his right leg on 19 June and was moved to 4th Field Ambulance. We cannot, of course, discount a random shot from a long range, but it seems unlikely.". Popkin, Sgt. Cedric Bassett POPKIN 1890-1968 - Ancestry Running to the wreckage, Fowler saw bullet wounds in Richthofen's chest, and was convinced he had been killed by the gunners. Australia, Birth Index, 1788-1922Name: Cedric B PopkinBirth Date: 1890Birth Place: New South WalesRegistration Year: 1890Registration Place: St Leonards, New South Wales, AustraliaFather: Dan W B PopkinMother: Lilian MRegistration Number: 32243Source InformationAncestry.com. Australia, Electoral Rolls, 1903-1980Name: Cedric Bassett PopkinGender: MaleElectoral Year: 1943Subdistrict: Tweed HeadsState: New South WalesDistrict: RichmondCountry: Australia, https://www.awm.gov.au/collection/R1959589/ accessed 6 Apr 2018FIRST WORLD WAR EMBARKATION ROLLCedric Bassett PopkinService number 424Rank PrivateRoll title 7 Machine Gun Company - 2 to 9 Reinforcements (May-December 1916)Conflict/Operation First World War, 1914-1918Date of Embarkation 20 October 1917Place of embarkation MelbourneShip Embarked On HMAT Port Lincoln A17age 26occupation: carpentermarriedof Palmwood, North Coast Line, Queenslandnext of kin wife Mrs. Nelly Popkin, Palmwood, North Coast Line, QueenslandChurch of Englanddate of joining 6 May 1916. Popkin was an anti-aircraft (AA) machine gunner with the First Australian Imperial Force (AIF) during the First World War. . WebWilly John "Snowstain" Evans (c. 18911925) was a Lewis machine gunner in the Royal Australian Artillery (RAA) during World War I. Unsolved History, produced by Discovery Channel credited him with firing the shot that killed Manfred von Richthofen ("The Red Baron"), near Vaux-sur-Somme, France on 21 April 1918. Arthur Roy Brown, D.S.C., R.A.F. ", When a human body is hit, there's an explosive effect called hydrostatic shock, which can be revealed by ballistics tests. I immediately got my gun into action and waited for our own plane to pass me, as the planes were close together, and there was a risk of hitting both. "The fact that the bullet was found intact inside the clothing of Richthofen is another indicator that it was a long-range shot," Franks told NOVA, "and I would say that would be probably 600 yards plus. Nellie remained with the children at Palmwoods until Cedric returned, quite a different man from the one who left. Cedric Popkin. Initially, the credit was given to a Canadian pilot, Roy Brown, however it is now accepted that Sergeant Cedric Bassett Popkin was responsible for the demise of the Red Baron. "I started firing at the body of the German pilot directly through my peep sight," Buie wrote. He was based at the Machine Gun Corps depot at Camiers, where he attended training school6. But Brown would have been firing from behind and above left. Many experts believe that the shot came from Popkin. Cedric, Service No 424, was originally assigned to the 6th Machine Gun Reinforcements as a private on 20 June, then to the 7th Machine Gun Company on 4 August 1916 when he embarked in Melbourne on the Port Lincoln. Websergeant cedric Popkin killed the red Baron? We said 'yes.' Most researchers reconstruct Buie and Evans' firing position as facing the oncoming triplane, making it unlikely that either could have fired the side-on shot that killed the Baron. Popkin was an anti-aircraft machine gunner in the 24th Machine Gun Company, part of the Australian 4th Division, stationed in the Somme Valley, France. DannyC. on Twitter: "April 21, 1918: Manfred Von Richthofen, the Cedric wasn't discharged from hospital until 6 January 1919 when he embarked on HT Kanowna for the voyage back to Australia. That man was Australian gunnery sergeant The Planes came from an Easterly direction and when within range of my gun, were flying very low, just above the tree tops. "Fragments flew from the plane and it lessened speed. Live Healthy !!! The Planes came from an Easterly direction and when within range of my gun, were flying very low, just above the tree tops. It was reported that a spent .303 bullet was found inside Richthofen's clothing. Cedric enlisted in the AIF on 6 May 1916 and did not see his family again for three long hard years. The Baron was hit by a 0.303 calibre bullet which passed diagonally from right to left through his chest. "He said, 'Have you got somebody who knows what they're doing, 600 yards away, and he's firing at von Richthofen's right side?' The machine swerved, attempted to bank and make for the ground and immediately crashed. He then made a hasty but controlled landing, in a field on a hill near the Bray-Corbie road, just north of Vaux-sur-Somme. There was evidence of only one hit on the triplane, which would fit with the cone of fire from a Vickers at long range. He had followed the fight and now swung his Vickers gun through 180 degrees in 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. Edith, 15, and Marjory, 14, took over the caring of the younger children as Dan travelled with his work as an insurance agent. By 7 April, when his company commander Sgt Phee was declared missing in action, Cedric was promoted to Sergeant. These facts, and the angle at which the bullet passed through Richthofen's body, suggest that he was killed by a long-distance, low velocity shot from a ground-based weapon. Capt.) On 30 August Cedric was assigned to the 24th Machine Gun Company as Acting Corporal, then Corporal, and shipped out to France on 7 September with his unit. In his Official History, war historian Charles Bean suggests that it was probably Cedric Popkin who killed the Red Baron. I gnashed my teeth, I cursed the war. Youll get hints when we find information about your relatives . They remained at Tyalgum for about ten years before moving north to run the Cudgen post office. POPKIN Cedric Bassett - Diggers Database - Search for a WW1 This article is in three parts, depicting the personal and military histories of Cedric Popkin, and the story of the shooting down of the Red Baron. When first engaged he was pursuing one of our own machines, reported to be a Sopwith Camel, in a W.N.W. I saw the documentary also. "SCVHistory.com CP3908 | Val Verde | History of Million Dollar Productions; Written for Cornerstone Time Capsule, 4-16-1939", "My dear secretary - Public Libraries of Suffolk County, New York", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Leo_C._Popkin&oldid=1145330822, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, This page was last edited on 18 March 2023, at 15:32. By 7 April, when his company commander Sgt Phee was declared missing in action, Cedric was promoted to Sergeant.
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