Obituary Jeremy J D Knapp
The following words are from Jeremy's brother Martin, who informed us of Jeremy's death on 3rd July, and who also attended Blundell's.
Jeremy Knapp (J J D Knapp) died on Tuesday 30th June after a battle with lung cancer which had spread. From Blundell's Jeremy joined the Royal Navy as a Seaman Officer and was awarded the Royal Humane Society Silver Medal as a cadet for saving the life of a drowning sailor who fell overboard from a boat returning to the ship after a 'run ashore'. He subsequently specialised as a helicopter pilot predominantly flying Commandos. During the Borneo Confrontation in 1964 he was awarded a Queen's Commendation for one episode and a Commander-in-Chief's Commendation on another occasion, both connected with dangerous flying operations.
He had the good fortune to be the commanding officer of three Commando helicopter squadrons after which he retired from the Navy and worked for Shell as an Offshore Installation Manager, firstly in the North Sea out of Aberdeen and then for two years off the coast of Brunei. He returned to the North Sea but found difficulty working with the unions after the Piper Alpha disaster so he came ashore and was responsible for writing and implementing the Platform Safety Manuals.
He retired first to Gloucestershire then to Suffolk where he has lived for the last twenty years. He leaves behind his wife, Caroline, their two children and four grandchildren.