Last week we were able to reunite a Great Great Nephew of Gunner Robert Jappe with one of his medals.
Robert Jappe was born in Argentina in 1896. His widowed mother had returned to the U.K. in 1901 with her six sons and settled at Watson’s Villas in the St John’s area of Sevenoaks.
Robert enlisted at Woolwich with the 93rd Brigade Royal Field Artillery and served on the Western Front from October 1915. He was killed on 17 July 1917 and is buried at the Canada Farm Cemetery, Belgium.
Shane Jappe at the war memorial standing to the left of his uncle’s name
Robert’s nephew, Shane, had previously been in contact with historian Matt Ball, who has been able to purchase Robert’s 1914-15 Star at auction.
Matt had recently been invited to attend the national service of remembrance at Westminster Abbey and had taken Gunner Jappe’s medal with him to the service.
Shane recently contacted Matt again and the pair met up with Shane’s wife and father-in-law at the War Memorial, where Matt was able to hand over the medal, which Shane’s father-in-law purchased as a gift for him and Matt also presented a signed copy of his first book.
Both Shane and Matt are keen to hear from anyone connected to the Jappe family, especially anyone who may have Robert’s other medals (The Victory and the British War medals) and the Memorial Plaque that would have been sent to his next of kin.
Sevenoaks WW1 