Virtual
War Memorial
Australia

Son of Asher Joseph SHAPPERE and Annetta ABRAHAMS who married in Sydney in 1889

He enlisted in Warwick Farm, Sydney on 7th September, 1915 & spent 9 weeks attending the School of Instruction at Sydney Agricultural Grounds to qualify for an officers position

He embarked as a 2nd Lieutenant on 1st April, 1916 with the 3rd Infantry Battalion, 16th Reinforcements on the ship Makarini from Sydney

Cyril died from wounds received in action at Flers in France at the 3rd Australian Field Ambulance - he is buried in Bernafay Wood British Cemetery & his name is memorialised on the Australian War Memorial

Lieutenant C.S. Shappere, died of wounds in France on December 29.  He was junior member of the firm of A.J. Shappere and Son, of Blayney, and 25 years of age.  He enlisted in September 1915, and after passing through the School of Instruction gained the rank of second-lieutenant and left Sydney in April 1916.  Lieutenant Shappere went through the Battle of Pozieres unwounded, and also took part in the battle on November 5, when his commanding officer, Lieutenant Colonel Howell Price was mortally wounded.  Lieutenant Shappere received his second star on December 19.

From François Berthout

Lt Cyril Solomon Shappere 3rd Bn AIF
 
Over a hundred years ago, on the battlefields of the Somme, a whole generation of young and brave men fought and fell together, side by side on fields strewn with poppies on which so much blood flowed.Flower of remembrance, poppies grow and bloom between rows of white graves on the sacred lands for which so many men fought, on the soils of a country for which they gave their today and their lives so that we can have a tomorrow.Always in our thoughts and in our hearts, we honor their memory with the greatest care and with the greatest respect and today, it is the memory of one of these men that I would like to honor with gratitude, I would like to pay a very respectful tribute to Lieutenant Cyril Solomon Shappere who fought in the 3rd Australian Infantry Battalion and who died of his wounds 104 years ago, on December 29, 1916 at the age of 25 on the Somme front.

Cyril Solomon Shappere was born on April 15, 1891 in Sydney, New South Wales, and was the son of Asher Joseph Shappere and Annetta Shappere (née Abrahams), of 10, Cliff Street, Manly, New South Wales.Cyril was educated at Bondi Grammar School and Fort Street High School, Sydney.Before the outbreak of the war, he worked as a merchant in his father's firm, "Asher Joseph and Son" and lived in Blayney, New South Wales.

Enlisted in Warwick Farm, Sydney, on September 7, 1915 in the 3rd Australian Infantry battalion, 16th Reinforcement,he spent nine weeks attending the School of Instruction at Sydney Agricultural Grounds to qualify for an officers position and embarked with his unit from Sydney, on board HMAT SS Makarini on April 1, 1916 and sailed for Port Said, Egypt, where he arrived on May 14, 1916 and served at Tel-El-Kebir for two days.On May 20, 1916, Cyril embarked with his battalion in Alexandria on board HT Ivernia and sailed for France where he was disembarked on May 26 in Marseilles.Three days later, on May 29, he was sent to Etaples then on July 27, Cyril and the 3rd Australian Infantry Battalion joined the Somme front and fought with great courage at Pozieres which was one of the deadliest battles in the Somme for the Australian Army who lost 20,000 men between July 23 and September 3, 1916.

on September 8, 1916, Cyril was sent to Belgium with his battalion where he learned the handling of mortars before being sent back to the Somme where he was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant on December 1, 1916 and fought with great courage in Flers.

Unfortunately, it was at Flers, on the front line that a few weeks later, Cyril met his fate and was severely wounded in the arms and legs by a shell on December 28, 1916. He was evacuated to the 3rd Australian Field Ambulance and despite all the care of Dr. Fitzpatrick, Cyril died of his wounds on the night of December 29, he was 25 years old.

Today, Lieutenant Cyril Solomon Shappere rests in peace with his friends, comrades and brothers in arms at Bernafay Wood British Cemetery, Montauban, Somme, and his grave bears the following inscription "In loving memory of our dear son sadly mourned."
Cyril, on this day, it is with all my heart and with the deepest respect that I would like to say thank you for all that you and your brothers in arms have done for us, here, on these soils of the Somme which keep still today the traces of the past of a whole generation of men who came from so far to protect freedom and peace and who gave their lives for us, for a more peaceful world today than it was a little over a hundred years ago.Young and brave, you answered the call of duty and led by the determination and strength of your youth, you joined the ranks of your friends, your comrades and all together, united by very strong bonds of comradeship and fraternity , you sailed and walked through oceans and chaotic roads to reach the muddy and cold trenches of the battlefields on which war raged.all together, with determination and unfailing courage, they lived day and night under torrents of steel that the cannons, in devastating flames, rained at an unrelenting rate on men who had their only protection their steel helmets.The Somme was for many of these young men, their baptism of fire, their first experience with the war and unfortunately, with the death which awaited them under the murderous fire machine guns that let nothing survive in no man's land.these young men from Australia were often only between 20 and 30 years old and despite the fear, they showed admirable courage and fought like lions in Pozieres, Flers, Gueudecourt, Amiens, Villers-Bretonneux, Mouquet Farm, Hamel, they were on all the fronts, as many towns and battles during which they showed constant bravery, they fought alongside the French soldiers with whom they forged solid and sincere friendships as well as with the French people who respected and deeply admired all these young Australians whom they nicknamed with love and affection "the diggers", these young men who, despite what they lived, always had a smile.Many of them did not know much about France, but nevertheless, they did so much for our country which has become and will always be theirs, they gave their youth, their courage and moved forward with valiant hearts, with determination and perseverance through the worst trials and the worst horrors of a world at war, united with their brothers in arms of all nations, they shed their blood side by side on the poppies which, of a brilliant red, remind us every day of what sacrifices were paid by a whole generation of men, heroes over whom I am proud to watch today to share and transmit their memories and the history of their lives, the stories of men who thought they were ordinary but who are and will always be in my heart, my heroes, my boys of the Somme who were extraordinary men.australia and france are today, as these men were, bound by a very strong and beautiful friendship of which i am proud and i would always watch with the greatest care, with respect and gratitude over your loved ones, i would always stand in front of them carrying the Flame of Remembrance high and proud so that their names, their stories never fade and be remembered forever in the light,I will forever be their devoted guardian. Thank you so much Cyril, for everything.At the going down of the sun and in the morning,we will remember him,we will remember them.