Percy Snowden Ahier

Mr Percy Snowden Ahier (Saloon steward, 1st class) was born in St Helier, Jersey in the Channel Islands on 8 January 1892.

He was the second son of John William Payn Ahier (b. 1864), a house carpenter with his own business, and his wife Clara (b. 1866), a dressmaker, both St Helier natives who had married around 1888. His only sibling was his elder brother Charles John (b. 1889).

The year prior to Ahier's birth his parents and brother had been listed on the 1891 census as residents of 20 Lourmeant (?) Street in St Helier. The 1901 census shows Percy and his family residing at 32 Columbus Street, St Helier but they soon resettled in Southampton, although when is not clear.

By the time of the 1911 census they were residents of 136 Northumberland Road in Southampton but Percy was absent and presumably at sea. His brother Charles, a clerk, was still living at home but had by now married to Emily Mary Mintram (b. 1888) and had a 1-year-old daughter, Irene Phyllis (b. 1910).

When he signed on to the Titanic on 4 April 1912, Ahier gave his address as 136 Northumberland Road and his previous ship as the Oceanic. As a first class steward he could expect monthly wages of £3, 15s.

Percy Ahier died in the sinking and his body, if recovered, was never identified. Jersey's Morning News initially printed a misleading article on 16 April 1912:

ANOTHER JERSEYMAN ON THE TITANIC

Mr J. (sic) Ahier, a son of Mr J. Ahier, who formerly carried a carpenter's business in the Island, but who had been residing in Southampton for some years, is a first-class steward on board the Titanic, and the news of his safety will be welcome alike to his parents and his many relatives in the Island.

A death notice would appear in The Hampshire Independent (unknown date):

Ahier--April 15th, at sea, on S.S. Titanic, Percy Snowden Ahier, the dearly loved son of John and Clara, of 136, Northumberland-road, Southampton, aged 20. Deeply Mourned.

His mother later benefitted from the Titanic Relief Fund.

Ahier's family remained in Southampton and further heartache was to strike the family. His brother Charles went on to have another two children, sons Leslie (b. 1913) and Cyril (b. 1916). The outbreak of war saw him serving as Private in the Hampshire Regiment and he lost his life on 7 May 1918 in Mesopotamia (modern-day Iraq). His widow never remarried and died in Romsey in 1985 aged 92.

Percy's father died in 1936 and his mother in 1941.