Groups and Single Decorations for Gallantry
The operation took place over several days in late March and was very costly in casualties to British and Gurkha officers. The 1/1st Gurkhas suffered significantly with one lieutenant killed and four officers severely wounded. Colonel Anderson and Major Dopping- Hepenstal were both severely wounded, shot through the lungs, Captain W. B. Northey was shot through both cheeks and Lieutenant F. S. Sheridan, was listed missing and presumed dead. According to the regimental history the wounds suffered by Anderson, Dopping- Hepenstal and Northey all took place within minutes of each other.
Major Dopping-Hepenstal was sent to the Officer’s Hospital in Bombay, where he spent eight months convalescence. On his return to active duty in November 1917, he briefly became the commander of the battalion depot. Soon after, Colonel Anderson took over the depot command as he returned to light duty.
In Petre’s history of the 1st Gurkha Rifles, Colonel Anderson wrote the following that it would be included in the record:
‘Hepenstal was my second-in-command and right-hand man from the time I took over command of the Battalion in France on the 4th January 1915 until we were both shot through the lungs at Jebel Hamrin, Mesopotamia, on the 25th March 1917. A most reliable and sound officer. A loyal friend, with the heart of a lion. He was three times wounded, and on the 19th April 1915 very severely burnt, together with Captain Johnson and several men, in putting out a fire at a farm. Hepenstal’s injuries necessitated his being sent to England and for months he was unfit for duty, and to this day bears the scars and marks of the burns.’
On 1 January 1918, Major Dopping-Hepenstal joined the 2nd Battalion, 1st Gurkha Rifles, at Ferozepur as second-in-command to Lieutenant-Colonel E. D. Money, C.I.E., D.S.O. Two months later, on 2 March 1918, he succeeded Money as Commandant of the battalion, and on 11 March he was promoted to Lieutenant-Colonel.
With the end of the war in November 1918, the focus was shifted towards the continuous uprisings on the North-West Frontier and elsewhere on India’s borders. On 6 May 1919, the Government of India declared war and general mobilization and the Third Afghan War began. The 2nd Battalion was engaged in numerous skirmishes and police-like activities, and for his actions and service during these hostilities Lieutenant-Colonel Dopping-Hepenstal was mentioned in despatches and made a C.B.E. (Medal with Clasp). He afterwards participated in the Waziristan operations of 1920-21 (Despatches; two Clasps).
The battalion left the Wazir Force in late December of 1921 and returned to headquarters at Dharmsala, arriving there on 11 January 1922, and on 11 March Dopping-Hepenstal was promoted to Colonel. He stepped down on the same day, ending his long and most distinguished service with the Regiment. He remained in the Indian Army until officially retiring and leaving on 11 September 1922.
Upon retirement ‘Doppers’ settled in the Cowichan Valley town of Duncan, Vancouver, B.C. where his niece, Mrs. E. C. Birch-Jones lived. Described by a journalist as ‘the most English town in Canada’, Duncan was a bastion of the old imperial order of expatriot aristocrats, retired British and Indian Army officers. The area was known as ‘The Last of the Longstockings’ where tweed breeks and puttees were the daily norm. He continued to enjoy the sporting life, fishing, shooting, cricket and lawn tennis. His main interest was the keen association with the local Quamichan Boy Scout Troop. ‘Doppers’ became Scoutmaster in 1926 and served in that capacity until 1934, when he took charge as District Commissioner. The Lieutenant-Governor of British Columbia, W. C. Woodward, awarded him the Order of the Silver Wolf in 1942. At that time the 1st Quanichan Troop added “Hepenstal’s Own” to its name, or the familiar “Heppie’s Own”. He expressed his gratitude to the troop for this great honour by presenting every member of the Scout Troop and the Cub Pack with new shoulder flashes bearing his name. This imperial soldier and scoutmaster was granted a special ‘salute’ on the Armistice Day Celebration of 1951.
On 6 May 1935 Colonel M. E. Dopping-Hepenstal, CBE, DSO was awarded the King’s 1935 Jubilee Medal, and the following year he attended a reception and events in London given by the Gurkha contingent in honour of the Coronation of King George VI.
‘Doppers’ died at King’s Daughters’ Hospital in 1965, at the age of 93 years. The funeral took place at St. Peter’s Church, in Quamicham with full Scout honours. The pallbearers were officials of the Scout movement. He was a well-known and respected figure in Duncan and was survived by his niece, Mrs E. C. Birch-Jones. The Colonel or ‘Doppers’ never married.
Sold with comprehensive research including 1st Gurkhas War Diaries on CD, and a good number of copied photographs from regimental archives.
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