 Her maiden speech in parliament was made from her wheelchair.Before World War II Apsley and her husband supported pro-appeasement groups, sometimes speaking alongside fascist supporting speakers, and organised pro-appeasement talks in Bristol up to April 1939.Her husband died in an aircraft accident in 1942, and she succeeded him as Member of Parliament (MP) for Bristol Central, winning a 1943 by-election with a majority of 1,559.