Hall honours Palmwoods gunner credited with shooting down legendary Red Baron

THE Aussie gunner credited with shooting down flying ace the Red Baron more than 100 years ago is to be honoured by Palmwoods, the town where he signed up to serve his country.

The identity of who killed Germany’s most celebrated World War I pilot has long been the subject of controversy. But most experts now weigh the odds heavily in favour of  anti-aircraft  machine gunner Cedric Basset Popkin.

What’s not in doubt is that Popkin hailed from Palmwoods at the time of his enlistment. He is named on the Roll of Honour at Palmwoods Memorial Hall.

Now, 102 years after he fired at the Red Baron’s triplane, landscaping work  will pay tribute to the former local carpenter.

Eye-witness reports and forensic evidence at the time suggest Popkin (1891–1968) was the person most likely to have killed Manfred von Richthofen on 21 April 1918.

Popkin enlisted in the AIF on 6 May 1916. By  1918 he had achieved the rank of Sergeant and was a gunner in the 24th Machine Gun Company, part of the Australian 4th Division, which was stationed in the Somme Valley, France.

In 1964, Popkin 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 ... As to pinpointing without doubt the man who fired the fatal shot, the controversy will never actually be resolved.”

“When he enlisted he was living here in Palmwoods as a carpenter,” said Palmwoods Memorial Hall Vice President Wendy Southam. “His name is recorded on the Roll of Honour. There was a lot of controversy around who actually shot down the Red Baron. A lot of people thought it was a Canadian pilot but, according to autopsies and ballistics reports, the bullet was moving in an upward direction and that could only have come from the ground.

“The whole purpose of the landscaping project is based around honouring Cedric Popkin, to give him the recognition he deserves.”

Mr Popkin was born in Sydney in 1890. And, while he did spend a number of years in and around Palmwoods when war broke out, his chosen home was Tyalgum in the Tweed Valley where he is also honoured. The veteran lost his leg in the war but, remarkably, still managed life afterwards as a carpenter, postmaster and tobacconist. He is buried in Brisbane.

Popkin almost certainly was the one

Calibre 0.303 was the standard ammunition for all machine guns and rifles used by British Empire forces during World War I. However, 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. 

Autopsies revealed that the wound which killed the Baron was caused by a bullet moving in an upward motion. It was reported that a spent .303 bullet was found inside Richthofen’s clothing. 

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. 

Many Australian riflemen were also shooting at the Baron at the time. So one of them may have fired the fatal shot. However, Popkin was an experienced AA gunner, the volume of fire from his 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. Despite this the RAF ultimately gave official credit to a pilot.

Hero to the German people

Manfred Albrecht Freiherr von Richthofen was a Prussian aristocrat. He was an accomplished marksman and quickly earned a reputation as an ace fighter pilot.

He started painting his planes red so that he could be recognised in battle and so he would get credited with any kills that he got.

As his reputation as the most daring of the German pilots grew Richthofen became known as the Red Baron and went on to lead the Jagdgeschwader 1, often called The Flying Circus or Richthofen’s Circus.

He claimed to have won 80 air battles and was a hero to the German people.

The day the Red Baron was shot down

On the morning of April 21, 1918, the Western Front was quiet for the troops at Morlancourt Ridge near the Somme River. The stillness was broken as the Red Baron engaged a Sopwith Camel. A Canadian pilot in another Sopwith Camel joined the air chase and fired on the Red Baron from behind.

It is said von Richthofen broke his own rules by flying low across enemy lines in pursuit of his prey.

Experienced gunner Popkin calculated the Red Baron’s return path would bring him just above the ridge line. He fired 70-80 rounds, causing the Red Baron to crash land in a field. The fatal bullet entered through the right  side of his ribs. He was still alive when the soldiers arrived at the wreckage and reportedly said “alles kaput” ... which means “I am finished” before dying.

Fitting recognition

Palmwoods Hall President John Meredith said it was only fitting to recognise Palmwoods’ connection to such a significant event in history.

“We also need to start planning for the Hall’s 100 year anniversary in 2022,” he said. “We’ll do something  special. It would be nice to find out about the old time dances that used to take place here. Maybe that would be an idea for inspiration.”

Work is being carried out by George Davidson Landscaping on a grant from Council.

A wrought iron poppy will be a central feature of the landscaping. Excavation work will increase available space to the side of the hall and help attract more events and functions. Work will link with and be sympathetic to the existing Council landscaping work along Little Main Street. The Hall was opened on 12 May 1922. 

Cedric Popkin

The Red Barron