Bury St Edmunds historian Martyn Taylor tells the story of John Tate Appleby whose book paid for a rose garden at the town’s Abbey Gardens

John Tate Appleby was born on June 10, 1907, in Fayetteville, Arkansas, to George and Gertrude Appleby. His surname almost surreal given that his father and uncle Charles owned orchards and canning factories in the area. John, aka Jack, would go on to attend Harvard University one of America’s finest and also went on to the Sorbonne in Paris.

Against this educational background, he learnt the classics, Latin and Greek, so it was no surprise he would go on to higher levels of education.

On joining the 8th air force of the USAAF he became a master sergeant and was sent over to England. During the summer of 1945 he was to teach celestial navigation to American flyers but he found out he was not required as they were flying by day then, the RAF flying by night. This suited him admirably because after ‘clocking in’ at the airfield near Lavenham he decided to start appreciating the surrounding countryside riding around on his Green Hornet bicycle.

He found the churches particularly to his liking and one day discovered someone carrying out brass-rubbing which he found fascinating and subsequently became addicted to this form of ‘artwork’. As a highly educated man he appreciated the history behind these images and in doing so met some of the clergy who at different times invited him to share their meagre mealtimes.

On a visit to Bury St Edmunds he had the fortune to strike up a friendship with eminent local photographer Harry Jarman, a friendship he would comment on in his later writings. John also enjoyed the Forces Study Centre in Chequer Square, diagonally opposite the Norman Tower he admired so much. The centre, operated by the British Army Educational Corps, was open to both American and British service personnel and provided opportunities to participate in plays, concerts and cultural enjoyment. He thought the town’s volunteer-run Athenaeum Club, acting as a canteen for the troops, was very good as well.

John Appleby so enjoyed his sojourn travelling around the English countryside appreciating its history and heritage that in 1948 he published a book, Suffolk Summer, based on his time and experiences here.

“In acknowledgement of the kindness he received from the townspeople of Bury, the author assigned the whole of the royalties from the sale of the book for the ‘Appleby Rose Garden’ amid the abbey ruins £423 had been paid over for that purpose,” as reported in the East Anglian Magazine in 1956.

The delightful Suffolk Summer captures a moment in time and is still in print today, published by the East Anglian Magazine Ltd and available from bookshops. As shown, royalties were left by him to help create and maintain the wonderful rose garden that bears his name today. Returning to the USA, he never came back to England but continued being involved with history amongst his works; he was a biographer of English 12th and early 13th century kings and associate editor of the American History Review. He died of leukaemia on December 19, 1974, at his home in Washington, D C. Today, the garden is a place of tranquillity and contemplation with memorials to various conflicts, a fitting place for them.

— Martyn Taylor is a local historian, author and Bury Tour Guide. His latest book, Bury St Edmunds Through Time Revisited, is widely available.