William Alfred Jeffery

Mr William Alfred Jeffery was born in Southampton, Hampshire, England on 17 January 1884.

He was the eldest son and second child of William Hoare Jeffery (1858-1917), a shipping clerk, and Alice Jane Athey (1855-1939). His father was born in Southampton and his mother in Camden Town, London and they had married in Southampton in 1880, going on to have nine children.

William's eight siblings were: Ada Mary (1882-1955, later Mrs George Edmund Wareham), Bertram Athey (1886-1954), Gertrude Alice (1888-1976, later Mrs Alfred Culliford), Edith Annie (1890-1967, later Mrs Arthur Ling), Ernest Archibald (1892-1968), Constance May (1895-1987, later Mrs Alfred Ernest Pearce), Dorothy Ina (1897-1990, later Mrs Arthur Thomas Yates) and Winifred Dora (1899-1983, later Mrs George Green).

He first appears on the 1891 census living with his family at 16 Terminus Terrace, Southampton. The family had moved to 292 Priory Road by the time of the 1901 census and William is listed as a shipping clerk. By 1911 the census shows William and his family now residing at 2 Church Lane, Highfield, Southampton and he was listed as an unmarried shipping store clerk.

When he signed-on to the Titanic on 6 April, 1912, Jeffery gave his address as 1 Aspley Villa, Acton, this being a Gatti address common to several of the restaurant staff. His local address was still 2 Church Lane, Highfield. His previous ship had been the Olympic and as a member of the à la carte restaurant he was employed and therefore paid by Mr Gatti.

There are reports that during the evacuation that the largely continental staff of the à la carte restaurant were relegated to the same treatment as third class passengers and prevented from entering first and second class areas of the ship, direct arterial routes to the lifeboats. All but three of them were lost.

William Jeffery died in the sinking and his body, if recovered, was never identified.

William's family largely remained in Southampton; his father died in 1917 and his mother in 1939. His last surviving sibling was his sister Dorothy Yates who died in Southampton on 22 July 1990.

William is remembered on a headstone in Old Common cemetery Southampton (section P 98).