John Hackett (British Army officer)

Sir John Winthrop Hackett
Gen. Sir John Hackett
Nickname(s)	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 Trans-Jordanian Frontier Force 20th Armoured Brigade 7th Armoured Division Northern Ireland Command Northern Army Group 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 (6)
Other work	University administrator, author, commentator

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

Hackett, nicknamed "Shan", was born in Perth, Western Australia. His Irish Australian father, also named Sir John Winthrop Hackett (1848–1916), originally from Tipperary, was educated at Trinity College, Dublin (B.A., 1871; M.A., 1874), and he migrated to Australia in 1875, eventually settling in Western Australia in 1882, where he became a newspaper proprietor and editor and a politician. His mother was Deborah Drake-Brockman. Her parents 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. Deborah had three sisters and three brothers.

On 3 August 1905, at 57, Hackett Sr married 18-year-old Deborah Drake-Brockman (1887–1965)—later Deborah, Lady Hackett; Deborah, Lady Moulden; and Dr Deborah Buller Murphy—a director of mining companies. They had four daughters and son. Hackett senior died in 1916. Lady Hackett remarried in 1918 and moved to Adelaide to live.

Hackett junior received secondary schooling at Geelong Grammar School in Victoria and then travelled to London to study painting at the Central School of Art. He then studied Greats and Modern History at New College, Oxford, earning an M.A. 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. During his military training, he completed a thesis in history with a focus on the crusades and the Early Middle Ages, particularly Saladin's campaign in the Third Crusade, for which he was awarded a B. Litt. He also qualified as an interpreter in French, German and Italian, studied Arabic and eventually became fluent in ten languages.