YOU’D have got short odds on there not being a spare seat in one of the Island’s larger churches as family and friends turned out to pay respects to Neville Ahier yesterday.
“Honest Nev” arrived in trademark style for his funeral at St Martin’s Church on the back of his green Morris truck, following the short trip from his home parish of Trinity.
The trusty truck always heralded his arrival at race meetings at Les Landes and other fixtures in the Jersey calendar, as well as being used for chauffeuring delighted schoolchildren around the Island on special occasions, and it was fitting that it was chosen for his last journey – even if the left turn into Grande Route de Rozel was a bit tight.
Hundreds turned out to honour a man who was renowned for his love of farming, horses and the Jersey cow, as well as his enthusiasm for football, horse-racing and his work as a bookie.
The service, led by the Rector of St Martin, the Rev Pete Stone, referenced Mr Ahier’s passions, with family members reading poems about football and ploughing from A E Houseman’s Shropshire Lad collection, and hymns including The Old Rugged Cross and We Plough the Fields and Scatter.
Members of the congregation smiled as they were reminded that Mr Ahier had never missed a race meeting at Les Landes, even discharging himself from hospital on one occasion in order to maintain his 100% attendance record, and was still overseeing the popular dice game Crown and Anchor at the final meeting of the 2023 season.
Mr Ahier was an accomplished card player, and as recently as New Year’s Day he was relieving members of his family of a couple of pounds during a game of nap, the service heard.
Having remarked that he was in the “departure lounge” phase of his life, Mr Ahier visited his stables for the last time the following day, and on 3 January he died aged 88.
Mourners chuckled as they were reminded about brushes with authority, including the tut-tutting of a strict matron after Mr Ahier encouraged fellow patients in hospital to gamble.
When a health and safety inspector deemed the tarpaulin that was supposed to cover the Crown and Anchor stall at the Gorey Fête was in breach of fire regulations, Mr Ahier responded with some colourful views of his own and featured on page one of the following day’s JEP.
Many of the stories revolved around sport, with highlights including Mr Ahier cramming his truck full of supporters to cheer on St Martin’s under-18s in their win over Victoria College in the final of the John Tregear Trophy and another success as co-owner of Hard to Handel, the champion horse of 2021.
Away from sport, the service also heard about Mr Ahier’s lifelong attachment to the land, working on the family farm throughout the Occupation with his nine siblings, and the huge admiration he developed for Winston Churchill during this time.
A great pride in his home Island was a consistent theme throughout the funeral, with mention made of his driving a coach-and-horses down King Street on the occasion of the Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II in 1953, as well as his prowess in Jèrriais.
The strains of Beautiful Jersey were played as the coffin was carried back to the waiting Morris. Everyone in the house was happy that they’d known Honest Nev, but sad that Jersey was saying goodbye to one of its biggest characters.
