Appleton Brothers of Fairby Lane
by Andrew Marshall (2024)
A shortened version of the article appeared in The Hart (November and December 2024 editions).
Lieutenant (Air) Karl Hermann Appleton (1912-1943)
828 Squadron, Fleet Air Arm, Royal Navy
Karl was born in Leeds in 1912 to Charles Appleton and Mary Florence Grace (née Lister). He had one older sister, two younger brothers, and two younger sisters. Their father, Charles, worked as a travelling salesman for a wood merchant. They moved to the small village of Hartley in the county of Kent in 1934 and lived in a bungalow named “The Stoep” in Fairby Lane. The mother and her eldest daughter Dorothy kept a school, called Fairby High School in The Stoep from about 1939 to the 1950’s.
Karl joined the RAF and was given a short service commission as an acting Pilot Officer on probation on 1 July 1937. His two younger brothers would follow him and would also join the RAF in 1938.
He was appointed as a Pilot Officer on 6 May 1938 but less than a year later on 2 January 1939 Karl transferred from the RAF when he relinquished his commission and became a Sub-Lieutenant in the Air Branch of the Royal Navy - known as the Fleet Air Arm.
On 6 January 1940 he was appointed to the rank of Lieutenant (Air). Later that year he received news from his family that his youngest brother Llewellyn (Lew) had been reported missing whilst flying with 79 Squadron of Fighter Command on 14 May 1940, it would later be confirmed that he was killed in action.
Karl had met Winifred Jessie Grieve who came from St Ninians in Stirling, Scotland and they were married at St Philips church, Musselburgh on 18 December 1941, they had a daughter, Joy Susanne Appleton who was born the following year.
Lieutenant Appleton was posted to 828 Naval Air Squadron which had been formed in September 1940 as a torpedo spotter reconnaissance squadron. It operated in several theatres of the Second World War. The squadron was initially equipped with Fairey Albacores on its formation at RNAS Lee-on-Solent, and then moved to Scotland to operate anti-submarine patrols with RAF Coastal Command.
They embarked aboard HMS Victorious in July 1941 and carried out an attack on Kirkenes, Norway. Five of the squadron's aircraft were lost in the attack. The squadron was then regrouped and sailed to Gibraltar in August aboard HMS Argus. They were then transported to Hal Far, Malta aboard HMS Ark Royal. From there the squadron attacked enemy shipping attempting to transport supplies to the Axis forces in Libya.
On 12 March 1943 Lieutenant Appleton was the Navigator in the Fairey Albacore Torpedo bomber piloted by Lieutenant Allan Gregory from Ipswich with Leading Aircraftman Benjamin Knight Forrest from Bedford the third crew member. They took off from Hal Far for an anti-shipping patrol, but the aircraft failed to return and they were posted as missing, about 25 Miles south of Palermo, Sicily. They were later confirmed as killed in action. After their initial burial they were reburied, in 1944, in the CWGC cemetery Catania War Cemetery, Sicily, Italy where they are buried next to each other. Karl is also commemorated on the Hartley War Memorial.
Wing Commander 40656 James William Appleton (1914-1976)
James was born in Leeds on 27 March 1914 to Charles Appleton and Mary Florence Grace (née Lister). He had one older sister, two brothers, and two younger sisters. Their father, Charles, worked as a travelling salesman for a wood merchant. They moved to the small village of Hartley in the county of Kent in 1934 and lived in a bungalow named “The Stoep” in Fairby Lane. The mother and her eldest daughter Dorothy kept a school, called Fairby High School in The Stoep from about 1939 to the 1950’s.
James’s eldest brother Karl had joined the RAF in 1937 and so, along with his brother Llewellyn, he too joined the RAF in May 1938. Appointed Pilot Officer on 7 March 1939 he was destined for a long and rewarding career in the service he obviously loved.
When the Second World War began all three brothers were immediately on active duty being regular officers in the RAF and would have been posted accordingly.
James was sent to India to join 60 Squadron and his entry in the Operational Records Book (ORB) states: Pilot Officer J W Appleton as shown on the strength of Squadron on 31 December 1939. They were stationed by Flights at a number of bases in Northwest India with their headquarters at Ambala.
James received the tragic news that his younger brother Llewellyn was killed in action on 14 May 1940 when his Hurricane failed to return from a patrol over Belgium. He was initially posted as missing and there must have been great anxiety waiting for further news. It was later confirmed that he was killed, and this must have come as a severe blow to all the family as he was the youngest son.
He was promoted to Flying Officer in September 1940 and Flight Lieutenant a year later.
In February 1941 they received orders to relocate to Rangoon in Burma and were soon packing up all the necessary stores and equipment ready for the move, many of the men expressed the hope that they would soon see “real action”. The Squadron was based at Mingaladon just outside of Rangoon and was equipped with Bristol Blenheim light bombers and ten Brewster Buffalo fighters.
From the ORB of 60 Squadron P/O Appleton is mentioned on 31 May 1941 when he is noted to begin night flying exercises, they were stationed at Mingaladon.
On 16 September 1941, as the pilot of a Blenheim transporting Group Captain Manning, he crashed on landing and although no one was hurt the aircraft was a write off.
There followed several months of intense training exercises including high level bombing practice, cross country flights and night flying as well as ferrying duties for higher ranking personnel. The Squadron transferred all the Buffalo aircraft over to 67 Squadron. In November they received orders to proceed to Kuantan in Malaya and by the end of the month the transfer had been completed.
The ORB stops at this point and does not begin again until 1 March 1942.
The Japanese Imperial Army attacked Malaya, on 8 December 1941, which was then under British control. This attack marked the beginning of the Pacific War which saw the Japanese successfully defeat the British and Commonwealth forces at Hong Kong in December of that year and then the disastrous campaign that led to the loss of the Malaysian peninsula and the final capitulation of the British Garrison at Singapore by February 1942.
After the Fall of Singapore on 15 February 1942 the Japanese had taken about 80,000 British, Indian, Australian and local troops as prisoners of war along with the 50,000 taken during the campaign through Malaya.
Flight Lieutenant Appleton was one of those taken POW, detail from a newspaper account written after the war stated the following:
Gravesend Reporter 11.10.1958
William was a test pilot in India during the war. When the Japs struck at Singapore, he took his plane to the air to fight them. The plane crashed into a hillside, and he was the only one to survive. Before he collapsed unconscious and badly burned, he pulled one of the crew clear from the wreckage. It was some time before he was found and taken to hospital. Because he was so badly injured, it was considered too dangerous to move him to a hospital ship. The Jap invaders were creeping nearer. He was left behind. The hospital ship was bombed. The hospital was captured by the Japs and Mr Appleton had to survive British bombs before he went into captivity for over 3 years. Today he is the air attaché in Bucharest.
In March the family received the terrible news that their eldest son Karl, who was a Lieutenant (Air) in the Fleet Air Arm of the Royal Navy, had been posted as missing in action on 12 March 1943 after leaving for an anti-shipping raid near Sicily, it was later confirmed as killed in action.
Little is known of James’ captivity other than he was held at POW camp No.1 in Changi, Singapore. By July 1943 his family had received a postcard notifying them of his situation and this must have come as some relief following the earlier news about Karl.
Flight Lieutenant Appleton was liberated from Changi POW camp on 2 September 1945 and sometime later transported back to the UK, where his family must have been so pleased to see him after losing two sons.
James met and married Eleanor M Thomas and they were married in 1946, and they had two daughters Katharine born in 1947 and Rosemary Charlotte (known as Charlotte) in 1957.
After the war he continued with his career in the RAF becoming Squadron Leader in 1947 and finally Wing Commander in 1953. In 1958 he was the British air attaché to Bucharest.
James retired from the RAF on 2 October 1966 retaining the rank of Group Captain, he lived at The Lodge, Goudhurst in Kent in his later life.
He died 1 June 1976 at 29 Avenue Don Bosco, 1150 Brussels, Belgium aged just 62 years old.
Pilot Officer 40497 Llewellyn Lister Appleton (1916-1940)
79 Squadron, RAF
Llewellyn was born in Leeds in 1916 to Charles Appleton and Mary Florence Grace (née Lister). He had one older sister, two older brothers, and two younger sisters. Their father, Charles, worked as a travelling salesman for a wood merchant. They moved to the small village of Hartley in the county of Kent in 1934 and lived in a bungalow named “The Stoep” in Fairby Lane. The mother and her eldest daughter Dorothy kept a school, called Fairby High School in The Stoep from about 1939 to the 1950’s.
Llewellyn’s eldest brother Karl had joined the RAF in 1937 and so, along with his brother James, he too joined the RAF in 1938 being confirmed as a Pilot Officer on 29 November 1938. He was posted to 79 Squadron based at Biggin Hill in Kent not too far from his home. He was known as Lew by his fellow pilots.
At the beginning of the war in September 1939 he flew Hurricane fighters with 79 Squadron on defensive patrols and escort duties for cross Channel shipping. When the Germans invaded Holland and Belgium on 10 May 1940 the Squadron was immediately posted overseas that day. The ground crew were transported by Ensign and Bombay aircraft and by 17.00 hours aircraft and ground personnel were all at Merville in France.
That evening the whole squadron took off between 18.00 and 20.00 hours on patrol but nothing was sighted. All the aircraft landed at Mons-en-Chaussée except three who landed safely elsewhere.
In the early hours of 11 May the six Hurricanes of ‘A’ Flight took off on patrol. Yellow section was led by acting Flight Lieutenant Robert Sidney James Edwards and Pilot Officer Lew Appleton was No2 with Pilot Officer John Edward Randell Wood as No3.
At 5.10 hours they were flying at a height of about 4000 feet in the vicinity of La Louvière when they spotted three enemy He111's below them. F/L Edwards ordered the attack and dived on the left-hand aircraft; he immediately began to receive return fire from all the enemy aircraft. As soon as P/O Appleton came into range he attacked the right-hand Heinkel and closed to 300 yards firing a short burst of machine gun fire, black smoke appeared from the tail. He continued with his attack delivering another short burst and the enemy broke off their attack on section leader Edwards. Lew remained on the tail of the enemy and fired yet another short burst into the Heinkel which was seen to lower its undercarriage. As the Heinkel attempted to land Lew closed to 200 feet and delivered his final attack, he fired a 6-8 second burst into the enemy aircraft and with his ammunition expended he broke off the attack. The He111 crashed into a farmhouse wall and burst into flames confirmed by P/O Wood. During this intense engagement, Flight Lieutenant Edwards was forced to bale out of his Hawker Hurricane after it was struck by enemy machine gun fire and caught fire. Initially reported missing in action, Edwards reappeared several days later, having survived the ordeal with severe burns to one of his arms.
During the attack P/O Appleton’s Hurricane had also received a hit from one of the enemy aircraft and he was forced to land at Le Touquet airfield.
The following two days saw much action with the whole Squadron engaged in several aerial combats, shooting down enemy aircraft but losing some of their own as well.
On the 14 May ‘B’ Flight took off in the evening to patrol the Nivelles area of Belgium. Lew was last seen by the other two pilots of his section P/O Donald William Alfred Stones and Sergeant Harry Cartwright. P/O Stones later wrote an account in his book ‘Dimsie’ (p.31-32)
Still no contact with the Luftwaffe but on the 14th May, with Lew Appleton leading Sergeant Cartwright and me, we patrolled from Louvain to Namur. Suddenly I saw below us three Junkers 88 bombers and yelled: 'Bandits! Bandits!' on the R/T. They were in a wide V formation, and I heard Lew shout: 'Tally Ho!". Harry Cartwright and I went after two of them and Lew disappeared, presumably after the other which had broken formation. We dived on our two.
For the first time I felt the joy of firing my guns in hot blood and at a range of about one hundred and fifty yards I saw my rounds flashing into the 88's port engine and his rear-gunner firing tracer at me. The 88 started to turn to port and slowed down so suddenly that I overshot him and I shouted to Cartwright to finish him off. I now pulled out the emergency boost-plug for the first time ever, which gave the Hurricane its maximum speed of just over 300mph, and went after the leader of the 88s. The old fixed-pitch Hurricane was quite fast when really wound up and I gradually overhauled this 88, having still some extra speed from our initial dive, but it seemed ages before he filled my reflector sight.
Adrenalin was now pumping into my bloodstream and I tried to remember to give only short bursts and make them tell. First his port engine and then switch to the starboard, silencing his rear-gunner. His port engine was smoking and I thought I could see his airscrew windmilling. Again I overshot, and did a hard steep turn down above him and saw he was in a spin. I straightened out and saw him go into the west bank of a river, which I discovered later was the Maas. I felt nothing for him, only satisfaction and victory.
As the adrenalin faded, I began to wonder where I was and belatedly reduced my engine power, alarmed by the high temperature. The only thing to do was fly west, and by sheer luck I eventually saw in the distance the unmistakable bat-shaped Forêt de Nieppe, landmark for Merville, and Norrent Fontes. Harry Cartwright had already landed and had finished off the other 88. Lew Appleton had not returned, and we never saw him again. My poor old L1716 had suffered hits from the 88's rear gunner in its port wing main spar and would have to await a new wing.
The author of this account, P/O Stones was forced to land at Merville airfield with his damaged Hurricane after receiving return fire from the enemy aircraft.
As there were no direct witnesses to the fate of P/O Appleton there has been some confusion by some researchers as to which aircraft were being attacked. From the account above, written by F/Lt Stones, he has stated that they attacked three Junkers Ju 88’s.
Other accounts online say that a Belgian source states that ‘During an attack on a He 111 of 5./LG 1 this Hurricane was hit by return fire from the enemy bomber. The aircraft crashed around 19:00 west of Ronse, East Flanders.’
A further online source offers an explanation as to why this confusion could have occurred by stating:
Lehrgeschwader 1 (LG 1) was a Luftwaffe multi-purpose unit during World War II they were converted from He111 to Ju88 between May and June 1940. It was not uncommon for both types to be used by the same squadron for the duration of the transition. This would be a possible explanation as to why both types are mentioned in reports at the time.
The official version provided to his family was that Pilot Officer Llewellyn Lister Appleton was killed in action when his Hurricane (P2537) failed to return from a defensive patrol over the Nivelles area of Belgium.
Llewellyn was 23 years old, and his body was never recovered. In 2002 a plaque was placed on a small bridge on the Rue Rene Margritte in Lessines, Belgium to commemorate him at the spot near to where it is believed he was killed. He is also commemorated on the Runnymede Memorial to the missing, the St George's RAF Chapel memorial at Biggin Hill and the village War Memorial in Hartley.
His eldest brother, Lieutenant (Air) Karl Hermann Appleton - 828 Squadron, Fleet Air Arm, Royal Navy would be killed in action on 12 March 1943. His other brother Flight Lieutenant James William Appleton would be taken POW during the Fall of Singapore and was not liberated until 1945, he would remain in the RAF and reach the rank of Wing Commander.