Mrs Lawrence Edward Snape was born as Lucy Violet Lennard at Crooksbury, Farnham, Surrey, England on 3rd April 1890 and was baptised in St Andrew's Church, Farnham on 2 May that same year.
She was the eldest child of Edward James Lennard (1864-1928) and Elizabeth Jane Adelaide Caeser (1864-1935). Her father, a domestic groom, hailed from Ospringe, Kent and was for many years in the employ of Frederick Stanley, the 16th Earl of Derby. Her mother was native to Farnham, Surrey and she and Lennard were married on 5 January 1889, giving rise to nine children.
Lucy's siblings were: Bertha Elizabeth (1892-1968, later Mrs Johannes Beezem), Lilian Mildred (b. 1893), Isabel Phyllis (1895-1898), Gladys Maggie (1897-1970, later Mrs William Belsham), Edward Caeser (1899-1965), Robert Caeser (1902-1954), Ellen Ruth A. (1905-1983, later Mrs Arthur Muddiman) and Adrian Caeser (1910-1963).
She appears on the 1891 census as a one-year-old infant living with her parents at The Sands in Seale, Surrey. The family relocated from Seale to Witley, Surrey around 1895 and they appeared there on the 1901 census living in Birtley (?) Cottages. Another upheaval saw the family moving to Hildenborough, Kent around 1905 before resettling in Tonbridge, Kent; they appeared on the 1911 census residing at Cataract Cottage, Horns Lodge in Tonbridge.
Lucy was absent from the family home by the time of the 1911 census; she had married at the Tonbridge register office on 7 September 1909 to Lawrence Edward Snape (b. 1867). Snape, a native of Lowther, Westmorland was the illegitimate son of Isabella Snape (b. 1833); spending his early years in Whitehaven, Cumberland he apparently went to sea at a young age and on 9 June 1888 he qualified as second mate. The following year, on 6 August 1889, he qualified as first mate before rising to the rank of master on 10 January 1890.
Lucy and Lawrence welcomed a daughter on 18 June 1910; born at The Flying Dutchman Inn in Hildenborough, Kent she was named Margaret Isabel Snape. Lawrence's work took the family to Singapore and they lived at 76 Kings Road in Singapore City. In July 1911 he started on a voyage when he fell ill with dysentery, later dying in a hospital in Yunnan, China. The young widow Lucy and her infant daughter returned to England in December 1911 and they took up residence with Lucy's parents at Well Lane, Sandhills, Witley, Surrey. Her father was by then in the employ of Joseph King, a Member of Parliament for the Liberal Party. King used his influence to find Lucy employment to support she and her daughter; her first engagement arranged was as a stewardess aboard Titanic.
When she signed on to the Titanic on 6 April 1912, Mrs Snape gave her address as Well Lane, Witley, Surrey and indicated that this was her first working voyage. As a second class stewardess she could expect to earn monthly wages of £3.
The Daily Sketch (30 April 1912) reported the experiences of two surviving stewardesses, Mrs Gold and Mrs Martin as follows:
"The stewardess-matron, Mrs Wallis, refused to leave her room. Her remark was "I am not going on deck; I am going back where I am safe." Another one who refused to move was a second-cabin stewardess, Mrs Snape, a widow, 21 years of age with a little girl. As she fastened the lifebelts on her passengers she wished them good-bye. Later she told some of the stewardesses that she did not expect to see them again."
Mrs Snape died in the sinking and her body, if recovered, was never identified. Her estate, settled on 11 October 1912, totalled £234, 14s, 2d and was administered to her father. Her daughter Margaret benefitted from the Titanic Relief Fund as a class C dependent.
Lucy's daughter Margaret came under the guardianship of her grandparents. She was married in London in 1934, becoming Mrs John William McDougall (1908-1938). She had no children and was widowed at an early age. She died in Warwickshire, England on 25 January 1996.
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