Ernest Appleyard

Ernest Appleyard was a keen sportsman, being a good golfer, tennis player and skier. Although selected for the two cross country events at the 1924 Winter Olympics, he started in neither. Born in the Bramley district of Leeds, Appleyard was educated at Leeds High School and then Leeds University, where he obtained a B.Sc. His first job was as a teacher before becoming H. M. Inspector of Factories from 1909-16. He then served three years as a captain in the Royal Flying Corps (later the RAF). On demobilisation from the RFC, Appleyard founded Appleyard of Leeds Limited, which went in to become one of the biggest and most respected motor dealers in the area, selling prestigious cars like Jaguar and Daimler.

Whilst Ernest had little success as a skier, his two sons, Geoffrey and Ian, were both excellent skiers. Geoffrey (MC and DSO) was killed in action during World War II, but he had won British skiing’s oldest event, the Roberts of Kandahar Trophy, in 1939. Ernest’s other son Ian, who later became MD of the Appleyard Group, was a Yorkshire county tennis player and, in 1948, an Olympic skier. He became better known, however, as one of Britain’s foremost rally drivers in the 1950s and competed in some of the best-known rallies of the day, including the Monte Carlo and Alpine Rallies. With his wife Pat alongside him, Appleyard twice won the RAC Rally, in 1951 and 1953, in their distinctive white Jaguar XK20.