John H. Ahern

{{Short description|British railway modeller and photographer (1903–1961)}}

{{Use British English|date=April 2023}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2023}}

{{Infobox person

| name = John H. Ahern

| honorific_suffix = {{Post-nominals|country=GBR|FRPS|size=100%}}

| birth_name = John Henry Ahern

| birth_date = {{Birth date|1903|07|09|df=y}}

| death_date = {{Death date and age|1961|12|24|1903|07|09|df=y}}

| nationality = British

| occupation = {{Flatlist|

• Modeller
• Photographer
• Insurance broker

}}

| notable_works = Madder Valley

| spouse = {{Marriage|Gladys Mary Widdowson|1926}}

}}

John Henry Ahern {{Post-nominals|country=GBR|FRPS}} (9 July 1903 – 24 December 1961) was a British model railway enthusiast, photographer and writer.{{Cite magazine |last=Kitchiner |first=David |date=1994 |title=John Ahern: Master of the Madder Valley |url=https://3rails-media.s3.fr-par.scw.cloud/original/3X/4/e/4e9c65abf4c18906ce392acc891a5d9ab6aa402f.pdf |magazine=Model Railway Journal |issue=75 |pages=283–302 |access-date=2023-04-16 |archive-date=18 April 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230418095137/https://3rails-media.s3.fr-par.scw.cloud/original/3X/4/e/4e9c65abf4c18906ce392acc891a5d9ab6aa402f.pdf |url-status=live }}{{Cite book |last=de Frayssinet |first=John |url= |title=Scenic Modelling: A Guide for Railway Modellers |publisher=Crowood Press |year=2013 |isbn=978-1-84797-558-4 |location=Marlborough |language=en |chapter=Introduction |oclc=885170882}}

He is considered a pioneer of scenic model railways and one of the first to place a model railway within a landscape.{{Cite magazine |last=Flint |first=Steve |date=May 2010 |title=Pendon's Progress |magazine=Railway Modeller |volume=61 |issue=715 |pages=370–375 |issn=0033-8931}} The magazine Railway Modeller described Ahern's impact on the hobby as "fundamental and far-reaching".{{Cite magazine |date=August 1963 |title=Madder Valley at Pendon |magazine=Railway Modeller |volume=14 |issue=154 |page=184 |issn=0033-8931}} His 4mm layout, Madder Valley, built in the 1930s is preserved at the Pendon Museum in Oxfordshire.{{Cite web |title=Madder Valley Railway |url=https://pendonmuseum.com/about/madder-valley-railway |access-date=2023-04-18 |website=Pendon Museum |language=en |archive-date=1 February 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230201152754/https://pendonmuseum.com/about/madder-valley-railway |url-status=live }}

Ahern was also an avid photographer alongside his wife Gladys.{{Cite journal |last1=Ahern |first1=John H. |last2=Ahern |first2=G. M. |date=January 1942 |title=A Man and Wife Show |url=https://archive.rps.org/archive/volume-82/737210 |journal=The Photographic Journal |publisher=Royal Photographic Society |volume=72 |pages=11 |access-date=18 April 2023}} In 1932 he was elected a fellow of the Royal Photographic Society.{{Cite journal |date=1937 |title=Fellows, Associates and Members |url=https://archive.rps.org/archive/volume-77/735754 |journal=The Photographic Journal |publisher=Royal Photographic Society |volume=77 |pages=4 |access-date=18 April 2023}} His work published in the Society's catalogues, such as The Year's Photography, and was regularly exhibited there from the 1930s to the early 1940s. His photography was also published in Photograms of the Year. {{Cite web |title=Christie's - John H. AHERN |url= https://www.christies.com/en/lot/lot-2453384 |access-date=2024-09-09 |website=christies.com }}