Ian Appleyard
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Ernest Ian Appleyard (10 October 1923 – 2 June 1998) was a British
rally Rally or rallye may refer to: Gatherings * Demonstration (political), a political rally, a political demonstration of support or protest, march, or parade * Pep rally, an event held at a United States school or college sporting event Sports ...
driver,
alpine skier Alpine skiing, or downhill skiing, is the pastime of sliding down snow-covered slopes on skis with fixed-heel bindings, unlike other types of skiing ( cross-country, Telemark, or ski jumping), which use skis with free-heel bindings. Whether for ...
and
ornithologist Ornithology is a branch of zoology that concerns the "methodological study and consequent knowledge of birds with all that relates to them." Several aspects of ornithology differ from related disciplines, due partly to the high visibility and th ...
. Driving a
Jaguar XK120 The Jaguar XK120 is a sports car manufactured by Jaguar between 1948 and 1954. It was Jaguar's first sports car since SS 100 production ended in 1939. The XK120 is a highly desirable model. In 2016, Bonhams sold a matching numbers left-hand-d ...
, he won the
RAC Rally Wales Rally GB was the most recent iteration of the United Kingdom's premier international motor rally, which ran under various names since the first event held in 1932. It was consistently a round of the FIA World Rally Championship (WRC) calen ...
in 1951 and 1953, the
Tulip Rally The Tulip Rally (Dutch: ''Tulpenrallye''), first held in 1949, is the oldest Dutch rally competition. The teams are divided into three classes: Tour, Sport and Expert. The Expert Class is for the navigators which in the past 2–6 years in the To ...
in 1951 and a ''Coupe d'Or'' at the
Alpine Rally The Alpine Rally, also known by its official name Coupe des Alpes, was a rally competition based in Marseille and held from 1932 to 1971. In the 1950s and the 1960s, it was among the most prestigious rallies in the world and featured an internat ...
in 1952. In alpine skiing, he competed for Great Britain in the 1948
Winter Olympic Games The Winter Olympic Games (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques d'hiver) is a major international multi-sport event held once every four years for sports practiced on snow and ice. The first Winter Olympic Games, the 1924 Winter Olympics, were he ...
. After retiring from sports, he became a leading author on the
ring ouzel The ring ouzel (''Turdus torquatus'') is a mainly European member of the thrush family Turdidae. It is a medium-sized thrush, in length and weighing . The male is predominantly black with a conspicuous white crescent across its breast. Females ...
.


Biography

Appleyard was born in
Linton Linton may refer to: Places Australia * Linton, Victoria Canada * Linton, Ontario * Linton, Quebec United Kingdom England * Linton, Cambridgeshire * Linton, Derbyshire * Linton (near Bromyard), Herefordshire * Linton (near Ross-on-Wye), Her ...
,
West Yorkshire West Yorkshire is a metropolitan and ceremonial county in the Yorkshire and Humber Region of England. It is an inland and upland county having eastward-draining valleys while taking in the moors of the Pennines. West Yorkshire came into exi ...
, in 1923. As a child, he shared an interest in birds and alpine skiing with his brother Geoffrey, who died on an SAS mission during World War II. Ian received his degree in mechanical engineering in 1943 and went on to become a Major at the
Royal Military College of Science The Royal Military College of Science (RMCS) was a British postgraduate school, research institution and training provider with origins dating back to 1772. It became part of the Defence Academy of the United Kingdom in 2009, and ceased to exist ...
. In 1946, he accepted a job as a director of the family car dealership Appleyard of Leeds. The following year, Appleyard finished third in his class at the Alpine Rally in a
Jaguar SS100 The SS Jaguar 100 is a British 2-seat sports car built between 1936 and 1939 by SS Cars Ltd of Coventry, England. The manufacturer's name 'SS Cars' used from 1934 maintained a link to the previous owner, Swallow Sidecar, founded in 1922 by ...
. In 1948, he received factory support from
Jaguar Cars Jaguar (, ) is the luxury vehicle brand of Jaguar Land Rover, a British multinational car manufacturer with its headquarters in Whitley, Coventry, England. Jaguar Cars was the company that was responsible for the production of Jaguar cars ...
. Despite stopping to help an injured rival, he met all the target times and was awarded his first ''Coupe des Alpes'' (Alpine Cup). That same year, he competed in the Winter Olympics and finished 55th in men's slalom and 91st in men's downhill. At the wheel of an XK120 and with his wife Patricia "Pat" Lyons, the daughter of Jaguar founder Sir
William Lyons Sir William Lyons"Sir William Lyons – The Official Biography" by Philip Porter & Paul Skilleter, Haynes Publishing (4 September 1901 – 8 February 1985), known as "Mr. Jaguar", was with fellow motorcycle enthusiast William Walmsley, the co ...
, as his
co-driver A co-driver is the navigator of a rally car in the sport of rallying, who sits in the front passenger seat. The co-driver's job is to navigate, commonly by reading off a set of pacenotes to the driver (what lies ahead, where to turn, the severity ...
, Appleyard finished the Alpine Rally unpenalized three times in a row from 1950 to 1952, becoming the first driver to win the coveted ''Coupe d'Or'' (Gold Cup). Only two drivers would match this feat;
Stirling Moss Sir Stirling Craufurd Moss (17 September 1929 – 12 April 2020) was a British Formula One racing driver. An inductee into the International Motorsports Hall of Fame, he won 212 of the 529 races he entered across several categories of comp ...
in 1954 and Jean Vinatier in 1971. Appleyard went on to take his fifth ''Coupe des Alpes'' in 1953, but achieved success in other rallies as well. In the Netherlands, he drove to victory in the Tulip Rally in 1951, after having finished second two years earlier. In his home country, he won the RAC Rally in 1951 and 1953. In 1953, Appleyard also finished runner-up in the
Monte Carlo Rally The Monte Carlo Rally or Rallye Monte-Carlo (officially ''Rallye Automobile de Monte-Carlo'') is a rallying event organised each year by the Automobile Club de Monaco. The rally now takes place along the French Riviera in Monaco and southeast ...
and the inaugural
European Rally Championship The European Rally Championship (officially FIA European Rally Championship) is an rallying, automobile rally competition held annually on the European continent and organized by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The champions ...
. He later continued in motorsport more sporadically, taking second place in the 1956 RAC in an XK140. After retiring from rallying, Appleyard chaired the Appleyard Group until 1988. He also rekindled his interest in birds and started studying the ring ouzel in 1978, eventually becoming a leading author on the subject. In 1994, he released a book titled ''Ring Ouzels of the Yorkshire Dales''. Appleyard died in
Harrogate Harrogate ( ) is a spa town and the administrative centre of the Borough of Harrogate in North Yorkshire, England. Historic counties of England, Historically in the West Riding of Yorkshire, the town is a tourist destination and its visitor at ...
,
North Yorkshire North Yorkshire is the largest ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county (lieutenancy area) in England, covering an area of . Around 40% of the county is covered by National parks of the United Kingdom, national parks, including most of ...
, in 1998. An obituary in ''
The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...
'' wrote that "in his gleaming white Jaguar XK120, he became a sporting icon for his generation."


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Appleyard, Ian 1923 births 1998 deaths English male alpine skiers English naturalists English rally drivers English ornithologists Sportspeople from West Yorkshire 20th-century British zoologists Olympic alpine skiers of Great Britain Alpine skiers at the 1948 Winter Olympics 20th-century naturalists