Geoffrey Appleyard
| John Geoffrey Appleyard | |
|---|---|
| Nickname(s) | "Apple" |
| Born |
20 December 1916 Bramley, Leeds, West Yorkshire |
| Died | 13 July 1943 (aged 26) Near Sicily, Italy |
| Commemorated at | Cassino Memorial |
| Allegiance |
 United Kingdom
|
| Service/branch |
 British Army
|
| Years of service | 1939—1943 |
| Rank | Major |
| Service number | 86639 |
| Unit | RASC No. 7 Commando No. 62 Commando 2SAS |
| Commands held | Small Scale Raiding Force |
| Battles/wars | World War II |
| Awards |
Distinguished Service Order Military Cross and bar |
Major John Geoffrey "Geoff" Appleyard DSO MC (20 December 1916—13 July 1943) was a British Army officer, who served in the Commandos and Special Air Service during World War II.
Appleyard was born in Bramley, Leeds, West Yorkshire, the son of John Ernest Appleyard, a successful motor engineer, and Mary Elizabeth Northrop. His brother Ian became a successful rally driver. Geoffrey grew up in Linton, West Yorkshire, and was educated at Bootham School in York, where he combined academic success with natural history and roof-climbing, and at Caius College, Cambridge, where he obtained a first in Engineering and a skiing blue, while he was also his college's Captain of Boats, and competed as a highly successful international skier.
Appleyard was commissioned into the Royal Army Service Corps (Supplementary Reserve) on 1 April 1939 with the rank of Second Lieutenant. Mobilized for active service on 24 August 1939, he commanded an RASC mobile motor repair workshop as part of the British Expeditionary Force in northern France. During the Battle of France he was ordered to destroy all his vehicles, and then was evacuated from Dunkirk.
Appleyard volunteered to join the Commandos in late 1940, and was posted to B Troop, No. 7 Commando. He was promoted to the war substantive rank of Lieutenant on 1 January 1941, and in May 1941, now an acting Captain, was awarded the Military Cross for his "gallant and distinguished services in the field". after taking part in an operation by boat and submarine to pick up two Operation Savanna agents on the coast of France and bring them back to England.
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