Apple fan Lawrence Bradley is creating his own east Kent orchard – in Tacoma, Washington state.

A clarinet player by trade, Mr Bradley, who was born and brought up in Whitstable, has 3,000 sq ft of garden space, but is appealing for apple information.

“As the climate in the Tacoma area is very similar to east Kent it occurred to me I could recreate on a small scale the taste and aroma of the locally-grown apples I enjoyed as a child,” he says.

Music was instrumental in the journey that took Mr Bradley, once a pupil at Westmeads Primary, from Whitstable to Washington.

He was a member of the Kent Youth Orchestra in the 1970s, studied clarinet at the Royal Academy, before teaching with the Kent Music School.

A position with the Singapore Symphony Orchestra indirectly led him to Tacoma where, in 1983, he stayed. He is now married to Laura with two sons Daniel and Benjamin.

“If anyone can provide some insight into what varieties of apples are grown in east Kent I’d greatly appreciate it,” he says. “Currently I’m growing bramley, queen cox, ashmead’s kernel.

“I have already top-worked a modern gravenstein by cleft grafting. Polling of Kent Family History Society members online suggest that worcester permain should be in my collection. And I’m anxious to learn about rarer varieties that may be endangered. “I am passionate about preserving old varieties of fruit. I’d welcome any information.

•Anyone who can help Mr Bradley with information on Kentish apples should contact him via email at hudsonsbay@yahoo.co.uk