A Family At War

Jane Scott was born in the town of Westbury in Wiltshire in 1854.   The daughter of William and Mary, Jane was the third of four children and from accounts, was of ‘gentle birth’. Arriving in Port Albert to holiday with friends, Jane fell in love with George Appleyard, the son of a convict, at a time when South Gippsland was still being surveyed for possible farming.   As well as farming, G eorge and his brothers worked for the Shire, building many of the roads and bridges in the region. In 1877, Jane and George were married and in 1878 they moved out to Binginwarri which, although only 20 kilometres from Alberton, was considered wild at the time.   In making this move, Jane was the first white woman to settle in the area and, over the next 20 years would give birth to 14 children. When the Great War began, Jane would have felt a sense of pride as her sons began to enlist.   As the daughter of a soldier and still with strong links to England, she may have even felt a natu

The seventh of ten children, Edgar John Appleyard grew up in Alberton, a small town in South Gippsland.   His Grandfather Peter had come to Australia as a convict and settled in Alberton 4 years after it was surveyed.   A pioneering family in the district, Edgar’s father, Arthur Horatio was the Shire Engineer with his uncles all playing a role in the opening up of the region to European settlers. At the time World War One began, Edgar was a labourer, 23 years old, single and presumably good on horseback. Exactly what the Government was looking for as they sought Australian men to fight for England.   Just passing the strict medical test, Edgar signed onto the 8 th Light horse Regiment in October 1914, three months after the war began. Considered the ‘national arm of Australia’s defence’, the Lighthorse Regiments were made up mainly of young men from regional areas with many bringing their own horses.   As part of their enlistment for the regiments, the recruits would take p

The Appleyard name can be found as early as 1115 with William De Apelgart.   William’s son, also named William, was a Knight in the court of King Stephen, and throughout the various rulers, the name continued to be linked with the Court of England. Through the 100 year war, the War of the Roses, the civil war and the Jacobite revolution, the Appleyard’s have fought for their God, ruler, and country.   And, as we look at our more recent history, our ancestors have continued to leave their families, fighting in the Boer War, the Great War, and World War II. This blog tells the stories of those that have fought under the name of Appleyard.   Stories of heroes, leading the charge in Gallipoli, writing letters home from a strange land and being laid to rest in foreign countries having made the ultimate sacrifice.   But it also tells the stories of their forefathers including one who died at the Battle of Flodden, the last battle where a King would fight with his men. And at ho