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I just wanted to thank everyone that has replied - very generous of you all. My interest is that I am working on a book and modest exhibition about a particular moment in the history of the factory where Appleton was MD - ESA (Educational Supply Association), and together with the ESA designer, they embarked on a most remarkable effort - Project X - as it was known in the factory - the two men's response to the wartime experience of making Mosquito wings at ESA, a radical change for their war effort, and one which made a big mark on the two men. Appleton was the best-known 'amateur' racer of the 30s, but I have not been able to trace if he had children or whether any relatives are still around. He was the third generation to have been MD of ESA - and the circumstances of his sacking and his motoring offences are of great interest! Any further help most gratefully accepted! Appleton raised over $4m at today's prices for Project X, an extraordinary amount in 1945/6 - and the book and show is about the designs for that project - of which one chair went on to sell over a million copies and millions of British bums sat on that chair and some are still in use today.

Hi - The gap may be too big but I am trying to trace details of an Appleton family from Kent, from the late 19th to the late 20th Century. RJW Appleton (1910-93) was a racing driver in the 1930s, and the Managing Director of a company called ESA, the third generation in that position, going back to 1883. JMW lived at 14 Bird-in-Hand Lane, Bickley, Kent and his wife's name was Mary.