THE Last Post was sounded at the IW Crematorium for a war hero, who became the lynchpin of several Island organisations.
Alan Appleby, a resident of Freshwater Bay for the last 45 years of his life, died on his 99th birthday.
Born in Godalming, Surrey, he joined the Coldstream Guards as a boy and later transferred to the Welsh Guards just in time for action in the Second World War.
He was involved in the secret mission to rescue the Dutch royal family, earned the Military Medal for bravery as a tank commander in the Battle of Hechtel and endured forced marches and starvation as a prisoner of war.
After the war, he embarked on a career in construction, eventually passing on these practical skills along with his life experience and wisdom to young men who had strayed to the wrong side of the law, teaching in an approved school and then at Camp Hill Prison on the Island.
A family man with a strong yet pragmatic moral code, he committed much of his spare time to voluntary community work through youth clubs and the scouting movement, as well as spreading joy through his musical talents as an accomplished pianist and entertainer.
On the Island his contributions included time at the helms of West Wight Football Club, West Wight Boxing Club, Freshwater Inshore Lifeboat, Freshwater and Totland Carnival and Probus.
He is survived by his wife, Lilian, four of his five children, 11 grandchildren and nine great-grandchildren.