Steve Appleyard, G3PND, September 2021

Steve Appleyard, G3PND (SK)

Steve Appleyard, G3PND has sadly passed away, four years after being diagnosed with Motor Neurone Disease. He was incredibly courageous and strong in dealing with this debilitating condition, even learning to use his feet to type and send Morse code as the disease progressed. His article Disability Access in Amateur Radio was published in the March 2020 issue of RadCom. He continued to participate in the RSGB 80m CC and AFS contests until a week before his passing.

Steve was a founder member of the Norfolk Coast Amateur Radio Society (NCARS), hosting the club shack in the grounds of his house, and was also an active member of the Norfolk Amateur Radio Club (NARC).

His early career as a Merchant Navy Radio Officer led to his passion for CW, which never left him after he left his life at sea to pursue a career in the electronics industry. He was a prolific writer in his professional life and amateur radio activities. He had his first article published in Practical Wireless at the age of 17. He was the editor of the RSGB/ARRL book International Antennas and, more recently, co-authored the RSGB publication Getting started in EME as well as having an article on antenna design published in the June 2019 edition of QST. Earlier this year Steve featured in a NARC Live TV presentation in Getting to know Steve Appleyard G3PND. His fascinating story of his life in business, radio and electronics in his own words can be viewed on YouTube here; the part on Steve starts after 20 minutes.

Our thoughts are very much with his friends and family.

Tribute by Mike Costello, G3YPP
NCARS PR Officer

Category: Silent Keys