Robert Coppinger was born in Portsmouth, Hampshire on 3 August 1910, the only son of Rear Admiral Robert Henry Coppinger, CBE, and Georgiana Katherine Grace Coppinger (née Long) of 27, Nightingale Road in Southsea.  He was educated in an Eastbourne Preparatory School and joined the Royal Navy as a Cadet at the Britannia, Royal Naval College, Dartmouth in May 1924.

He joined the battle cruiser HMS REPULSE on 7 January 1928, and a year later he was appointed to the cruiser HMS SHROPSHIRE .  He was promoted to Acting Sub Lieutenant on 1 January 1931 and appointed to the Royal Naval College at Greenwich for the Lieutenants Course.

He was appointed to HMS DOLPHIN ‘for Submarine Training’ on 9 May 1932 and, on 4 September 1932 he was re-appointed ‘for Submarine L53 as Third Hand’.  On 18 December 1933 he was appointed to the Submarine Tender HMS PIGMY ‘for Reserve Group Submarines’ and ‘for Submarine L6’.  He was promoted Lieutenant on 16 January 1934 and, on 17 May 1934 he was appointed to HMS DOLPHIN ‘for Submarine HMS SEVERN as Third Hand’.  He was then appointed to the Submarine Depot Ship HMS TITANIA at Portland ‘for Submarine HMS H43 as First Lieutenant’ on 11 February 1936 and is also understood to have served in HMS L69.

Robert Coppinger then went to the Far East with an appointment to the Submarine Depot Ship HMS MEDWAY at Hong Kong ‘for Submarine HMS REGENT as First Lieutenant’ to date 11 April 1937.  After his return home from China, he was appointed to HMS OXLEY as First Lieutenant on 2 August 1939.  OXLEY was torpedoed and sunk whilst on patrol by HMS TRITON after OXLEY strayed out of her area and failed to respond to challenges from TRITON.

Robert Coppinger was the husband of Nancy Marguerite Coppinger (née Pettit) of Pangbourne, Berkshire.  He is commemorated on the Portsmouth Naval War Memorial on Panel No. 33 Column No. 1.