Thomas Bryers Hepple was the great uncle of the contributor. Born in Hetton-le-Hole, County Durham in 1897, he enlisted in 1916 and served in France as a gunner in the Royal Horse Artillery. His two elder brothers, Matthew and William also enlisted, and were charged to ‘look after Tom’ by their parents, John George and Grace. Although they all joined the Royal Horse Artillery, they were in fact deployed to different areas, and so were unable to fulfil this exhortation. Tom survived the war, but contracted influenza and died of pneumonia whilst still in France. He is interred in the Dunkirk Town Military cemetery in Dunkirk. He is also commemorated on the Easington Lane Memorial Clock and on his parents’ headstone at Easington Lane cemetery in County Durham. After the Armistice, Tom’s brother Matthew was on the train back home to Durham, but it was turned back at Ripon in Yorkshire and sent to Ireland instead. After the war, when John George and Grace were going to Dunkirk to visit Tom’s grave, they asked Matthew to accompany them, only he refused saying he would never set foot outside the country again, and his brother William went instead. Tom’s headstone in Dunkirk was subsequently inscribed “Too loved to be forgotten”.
One service medal, which has Tom’s name and number on it. Family photograph with parents John George and Grace, with sons Matthew, William and Tom all in uniform; Tom is on right at front. Two proof photographs of Thomas in uniform, one taken at Elemore (County Durham) in 1916. Scroll of service for those who died, which has been annotated on the back by G Sutton (the person who sent the medals and scrolls). A memorial card. 5 photographs in total; one of a war memorial erected in 1921 in Easington Lane in County Durham (Thomas is remembered on it), others are of Dunkirk war cemetery taken in the early 1920’s with the original wooden crosses: Thomas's parents John George and Grace Hepple had the photographs taken and are in the pictures. A final photograph of the eldest brother Mathew Hepple in uniform.