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Well-loved Jasper dies in hospital
Thursday 17th April 2003
A well-loved and much respected leader of the Romani community, Jasper Smith died in hospital in the early hours of Wednesday l6th April. He had been unwell for sometime.
An early actvist with the Sevenoaks Gypsy Liaison Committee, Jasper became a founder member of the Gypsy Council, when that body was
inaugurated on 10 December l966.
He attended the lst World Romani Congress in l971 and was proud to call himself a "Gypsy councillor" right up until his 82nd year.
From the roadside, Jasper campaigned for the opening of the Edenbridge caravan site - one of the first provided by a local
authority. Later he moved with other members of his family to Cox's Lane, Epsom.
While this site was under threat of closure, Jasper built his famous 'rocket to the moon'. This 25 foot high cardboard contraption was to carry them to a home in the sky, "as the council won't leave us anywhere to live down here".
But Jasper was not only a spokesman for Romanies in Kent and Surrey and a born leader. He was also a talented singer and musician, cutting a number of records during the folksong revival in the l960s.
The recent loss of his youngest daughter Lena was a severe blow to Jasper. |
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Listen to Jasper singing 
