Edward Pomeroy Colley
Edward Pomeroy Colley was an uncle of my grandmother Noreen Colley. I believe he was born and raised at Mount Temple, Ireland. Mount Temple later became a comprehensive school and is where Bono of U2 was educated. Indeed, it was the first place where U2 ever played a gig í¯Â¿Â½ a messy ten minute affair in January 1976 consisting solely of cover versions! Edie (nee Finlay), known in the family as Baba, was Edwardí¯Â¿Â½s sister-in-law, married to his elder brother George Colley. They started their married life a Faunaugh on 75 Orwell Road in Rathgar, a building subsequently demolished and now home to the Redemptorists. My grandmother was born here on April 14th 1912 as were Dudley and Veronica. During the Great War, Babaí¯Â¿Â½s brothers and male Finlay cousins were all killed so, when her father was no longer able to run the estate, circa 1916, George and Edie Colley took over the running of it. George was very handicapped by profound deafness from childhood. His brother Ger was a magistrate in Co. Tipperary. (See Harberton / Pomeroy family in Burkes, Debretts etc for more).
Edward wrote the following letter to Noreen's mother Edie Colley while on board the Titanic. It was posted in Queenstown (Cobh).
My dear Edie,
Your nice long letter came yesterday and had only one piece of synicism (I was going to say sarcasm) in it. Ií¯Â¿Â½m glad you liked the photos. The one of me obviously was unexposed. Whoever of you took it was in doubt at the time if they pressed the shutter. My wild letter to George on the subject of shirts was solely the mean of giving you and he a lot of bother, Ií¯Â¿Â½m afraid. And I forgot to send back the cellular [collar?] and shirt of Georgeí¯Â¿Â½s. I have [] Ií¯Â¿Â½ll bring it back next time I come, or if practical Ií¯Â¿Â½ll send it ashore at Queenstown. Ití¯Â¿Â½s my fault for not having them marked [with my í¯Â¿Â½- bad name].
This is a huge ship. Unless lots of people get on at Cherbourg and Queenstown theyí¯Â¿Â½ll never half fill it. The dining room is low ceilinged but full of little tables for two, three and more in secluded corners. How I wish someone I liked was on board but then nice people doní¯Â¿Â½t sit at tables for two unless theyí¯Â¿Â½re engaged or married. I wonder my blue blood didní¯Â¿Â½t tell me that?
They also have a restaurant where you can pay for meals if you get bored with the ordinary grub. Our most distinguished passengers seem to be WT Stead, W. Astor, [---] Chas. Hays and ---- Golby. Oh and the Countess of Something, but her blood is only blue black. (Give me good red corpuscles, I seem to know more about them). We nearly had a collision to start with coming out of Southampton. We passed close to a ship that was tied up alongside the Oceanic and the suction of our ship drew her out into the stream and snapped the ropes that held her and round she swung across our bows! She had no steam up so had to be pulled back by tugs and we had to reverse. The name of her was the New York in case you see it in the papers. It proves conclusively the case of the Hawk and Olympic.
Why is a person unfit for you to know if she is cursed (or blessed) with dimples in her cheeks or does she ipso facto become unfit at the moment I (and no one else) call her a nickname. Perhaps only as a distinguishing mark from her sister who didní¯Â¿Â½t catch a Viscount; I didní¯Â¿Â½t say I called her that; and I know several quite respectable people who have dimples. Why, your husband has one in his chin! Doní¯Â¿Â½t you think that it is I who am common and second rate, and not my friends. That sounds more probable in spite of the azure strain. You see I always prefer my funny friends to your Miss. Shawí¯Â¿Â½s and other pretty people. And the blue people find me dull and the red ones doní¯Â¿Â½t.
I think my best plan is to make love unplatonically to a í¯Â¿Â½ who owns the books. She has manners that would go down anywhere, dresses like an English girl and knows all the better people in Victoria (did you know there were some?!). She is not beautiful but very nice and in fact she would do charmingly but wouldní¯Â¿Â½t please my relations for two reasons. First she earns her living by playing the typewriter in a government office, Papa having died broke. Second, her great-grandpapa was neither blue nor red but was what is known as Red River meaning that his ancestors and he were the original owners of the Red River Country in Manitoba. Ií¯Â¿Â½m not a snob and you would be the first to call me one if I did more than draw attention to the fact. You have been so good to me and George too, that I am a pig to write such a nasty letter.
But Edie you have never met any of my supposedly dreadful friends, and I have lost all confidence in my power of choosing anyone for fear of family disapproval that I caní¯Â¿Â½t face it. You caní¯Â¿Â½t make laws for the whole of the world the same as for England. Remember you agreed with me that Chaperones do not chaperone. So why have them or why give them up by degrees as you English are doing what you -----. Evolution in emancipation [sic?] of the young maiden is really the arrival on the scene of England is usually 10 years as they adopted electric light and electric trains without any improvements, 8 to 11 years late. Not --- that awful America only but France, Germany and other European countries. Same thing with the aeroplane, motor cars (in 1896). And so it will be with the evolution of the _________.
You can have this letter printed if you like and circulated and ------------ ---------- given to the society for old and infirm chaperones.
I took Mary Bowen to see Man and Superman on Monday and I also saw Fannyí¯Â¿Â½s First Play last Wednesday, both Bernard Shaw and rather improper in places. The pain disappeared, thank you. It was not in the heart but in that part of me that if it was a lamb or beef would be grilled on toast and devilled. I hope to meet Mrs. and Miss. Kane and her sister and child in New York. She will be well chaperoned at any rate.
Goodbye Edie, youí¯Â¿Â½re a darling and wish you had a sister to hypnotise her into thinking I wasní¯Â¿Â½t common by inclination!
Love from Eddie
