Puzzled by the naming of Lt Cmdr G W E Naper and the crew of HM Submarine E24 on the Sullington memorial in inland Sussex, with the assistance of the Storrington Local History Group and other local organisations, I looked into the Naper family’s connections with the area. The longest term connection appears to be that of the Rector of Sullington, Henry Palmer, who was married to Clara Jane, the daughter of Thomas P Marten. The five Naper brothers’ mother Jane (nee Wyatt Edgell) was first cousin to Clara Jane Marten. The two eldest Naper boys, with their parents, were visiting Thomas P Marten’s household in the 1881 Census, suggesting close family ties. In addition, extracts from Henry Palmer’s diaries* published by the local Parish magazine, at least some of the Naper boys visited the Rectory when young. Rev. Palmer’s association with the family seems to have been quite close; he assisted at the marriage of the parents of the five brothers and officiated at the marriage of the eldest, Lenox A D Naper. All five Naper brothers served in the First World War, two losing their lives and another seriously disabled. Another connection with Sullington was Edmund Marten Naper’s settling close by at some time after he was disabled during the First World War, found at Gorse Bank in the 1939 Register. Edmund was the youngest of the five brothers; he died in 1958. To date, no record has been found of the process of getting the memorial put up, as is common in small communities, so the extent of the involvement of the Naper family is not known. To see more about HM Submarine E24 and Life Stories of her crew, please see the Community 'HM Submarine E24'. *Kept by West Sussex Record Office
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