The Colourful  Life of Harrison Hornblow Pomeroy

Harrison Hornblow Pomeroy

The son of James Richard Webber Pomeroy & his wife Eliza Culloden, he was born 1880 in Calcutta, and  worked as a purser on White Star Line

Harrison or Harry was born  a few weeks before his father died of Typhoid in Ilsington in London at His brother Rev Walters Pomeroy home. He was named  a dead brother of his father, James Richard Webber Pomeroy, whowas born & died in  infancy in 1847. 
Webber was the maiden name of his grandmother Issot Webber from West Teignmouth wife of Richard Pomeroy. There was also his uncle Reverend Harrison Albert , born in 1850 died in Auckland County Durham UK 1927.
Source of the name Harrison is uncertain although it may come from the wife of one of the another member  of the family,  Professor William Shearer whose wife was Jane Harrison. His brother was Dr George Shearer &  married to James's sister Georgiana.

Harry married in 1906 after meeting his wife Lena Collins when she sailed from her home in Australia to England on the ship he was serving on. They married shortly afterward in Benhilton in Surrey and by 1911 his wife Lena produced twins girls. Harrison continued to be employed as a purser for the White Star line sailing on SS Meganic and later on the SS Laurentic.

27 August 1910 - Sheffield Evening Telegraph - Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England

On board the SS Meganic…. Mr. Harrison Pomeroy, the purser, visited Dr. Crippen in accordance with his official duties, and noted the exceptionally considerate treatment of Dr Cripens 'Nephew'  who was Ethel Le Neve disguised and passed off as a young man.  The first criminal to be caught using ship to shore radio.

Harrison Hornblow Pomeroy 

Born   1 Jan 1880 CALCUTTA INDIA to James Richard Webber Pomeroy and Elizabeth Charlotte CULLODON .  His father died of Typhoid shortly after he was born 1880 

  Lena Collins having met her in 1906 on board ship he was serving on when she came from Australia to England and married shortly afterwards in Benhilton Epson in Surrey. 

 He had an interesting life as a Purser and Chief Steward with the White Star line\

1917: without doubt HHP deserted on 3 January, a warrant issued for his arrest, and he was court martialled on 17 April 1917. There were 5 charges of falsifying accounts and 1 of desertion. This information is available in the British Naval Records at Greenwich. His penalty was 12 months imprisonment without hard labour– probably in a military prison " the Glasshouse'

 4 April 1918 finds him in France with the RAF as a Clerk. See British Royal Air Force records.  The Royal Flying Corps that grew out of the Army became RAF when the Naval wing attached on 1 April 1918.

 SS Laurentic built as the 'Alberta' and launched as the 'Laurentic' in 1908. 

In 1910 the Laurentic carried Inspector Dew of  ScotlandYard across the Atlantic in pursuite of the 'Montrose', which was carrying the now notorious Dr crippen and his mistress Ethel le Neve. the Laurentic reached the St.Lawrence before the Montrose and Inspector Dew  arrested them couple and eventually returned them to England on the white star vessel 'Megantic'. He was onboard the ship that Dr Crippin and his mistress Ethel le Neve boarded to escape justices.   Mr. Harrison Pomeroy, the purser, visited Dr. Crippen in accordance with his official duties, and noted the exceptionally considerate treatment of Dr Crippen towards his supposed nephew - Miss le Neve

Laurentic was sunk off Northern Ireland by a mine laid by the German submarine U80  on 23 January 1917, ,with the loss of 350 lives. 

At the time of her sinking she was carrying about 5 million pounds bullion.The British Government did its utmost to recover the gold and over the next seven years divers went down to the ship, in 120 feet of water, over 7,000 times. 3,189 ingots were reported recovered.

Children of Harrison Hornblow Pomeroy were Audrey Harrison Pomeroy  born in 1911 , 

 Mabel Pomeroy Jan 1912  died age 6 

they lived  with his widowed mother  at 3 Gross Road Cressington, Garston, Lancashire, Eliza Charlotte  Pomeroy nee Culluden age 56 born 1855 in Calcutta India  her son Walter James  Pomeroy a Clerk age 32 born 1879 in Calcutta India.  

On his release  after 1 year imprisonment 

they migrated  to Australia . SS Omar  of the Orient line sailed from London to Australia on 29th Jan 1921 -Mr HH mechanic age 40

Mrs L age 35 housewife Miss A  age 10 Master RA age 7 months  this is Richard Anthony Pomeroy born 1920 England  died  2011  in Melbourne

Lena divorced Harrison Hornblow Pomeroy  & in 1940 married he again age 71 in 1941 to Florence Thompson and he died 1950 

1911 Census For England & Wales

3 Gross Road Cressington, Garston, Lancashire, England

 Eliza Charlotte Pomeroy Widow 56 1855 No Occupation nee Culoden Born Calcutta India

Walter James Pomeroy Son 32 Clerk B Calcutta India

Lena Pomeroy Married D in L Female 25 1886 b  Australia

Audrey Harrison Pomeroy Daughter 1 b 1910

Looking for the ship Lena sailed on where HHP was purser
FMP

 MISS LENA COLLINS B 1884  SAILED 1906  VICTORIA OUTWARD BOUND PASSENGER from Australasia

DETAILS REQUIRE ADDITIONAL ACCESS ££

Search

https://www.nla.gov.au/research-guides/australian-shipping-and-passenger-records/general

http://marinersandships.com.au/1906/01/190601.htm

Mariners and ships in Australian Waters    

January, 1906

I do wonder why  HHP did what he did? 
His record shows that although he was very able  he 'needed supervision' which suggests maybe an impulsive tendency  but why risk all ?

Maybe living with his mother was the problem or maybe Lena had an inclination to be upwardly mobile and this was more that his  paycheque could cope with ? 

 The  census shows them moved from the roomy terraced house seen here  in Waivitree in 1901 

to 3 Gross Road Cressington, Garston, Lancashire with Eliza Charlotte his  Mother and Walter his brother 

 but the houses now there are not Victorian  so  the area must have either been bombed or rebuilt ( The wonders of Google Maps!!) 

1911 and it sound like a different story-  3 Gross Road Cressington, Garston, Lancashire

still  with his mother Eliza Charlotte  and Walter his brother  - Its quite leafy today  but descriptions suggest it wasnt in 1911

https://www.google.co.uk/maps/search/Gross+Road+Cressington,+Garston/@53.3611908,-2.9230063,1210m/data=!3m1!1e3

The houses there now are not Victorian  so the area must have either been bombed or rebuilt ( The wonders of Google Maps!!) 

..  Garston is regarded  as one of Liverpool’s many ‘lost villages’ and  stands on the banks of the River Mersey between Speke and Grassendale, 5½ miles south of the City -  seems to have been very run down even then so maybe he was trying to get out of an area that was pretty dire. 

Victorian Garston bore no resemblance whatsoever to the rural idyll that the village had once been. Indeed, public health, hygiene, and living conditions were extremely poor, and the working environment was dangerous and hard.  

If you are interested this is a place to look     - https://historic-liverpool.co.uk/interactive-maps/historic-townships/garston/

I found one record with HHP having TB (Tubercular bacillus )     

 wonder how he did that ? Maybe an dishonourable discharge was overlooked because of the war. 

OR maybe he didn't mention it & RAF just didn't check ?

TB invalided him out of RAF 1918- He was probably sent to a sanatorium somewhere  as this was before isoniasid & tetracycline treatment 

I looked at this  - https://historic-liverpool.co.uk/interactive-maps/historic-townships/garston/

and Mike Roydons excellent & comprehensive site http://www.roydenhistory.co.uk/mrlhp/articles/mikeroyden/liverpool/monastic/mondoc.htm

HH Harrison Hornblow  Royal Flying Corps •

http://www.airhistory.org.uk/rfc/people.html

131325

The Royal Flying Corps was formed on the 13th April 1912 and comprised a Military Wing, Naval Wing, Central Flying School and the Royal Aircraft Factory. The Naval Wing split from the RFC on 1st July 1914 to become the Royal Naval Air Service ('RNAS'), under the control of the Admiralty.

On the 1st April 1918 the RFC merged with the RNAS to form the Royal Air Force ('RAF').

The RFC was a Corps of the Army, and thus had Army ranks, regulations and procedures.

All of the initial personnel of the RFC Military Wing comprised officers and men who transferred from the Army, and the Army continued to be a significant source of personnel for the RFC, either by permanent transfers, secondment or temporary attachment (the latter categories applying particular to observers).

http://www.kumc.edu/wwi/index-of-essays/tuberculosis.html

MIGRATION

SS Omar  of the Orient line sailed from London to Australia on 29th Jan 1921

Mr HH Pomeroy mechanic age 40

Mrs L age 35

Miss A  age 10

Master RA (Anthony) age 7 months

The ship docked in Sydney, Australia on 19 March 1921; the day Tony turned 1  . They lived in George Street Pennant Hills in a  new house with extensive gardens  where in  1924 Isobel was born on 20 January . 

(Tony memory aged 10)

‘1930 Our father left Pennant Hills. Mum started a dairy to pay debts left in her name. 

1934 Father operated Pomeroy Complete Home Furnishers located in York Street Sydney. Mum found me difficult to handle so she handed me over to father’s care. I attended Woollahra Commercial School and I lived with father and his girlfriend in Edgecliff. (Tony aged 14)

Home furnishing is interesting with an interesting parallel - AJP  wonders if they connected with each other-In 1888 cousins Edgar & Campbell Pomeroy, sons of Augustus, brother of Harrisons father James , with their mother migrated from Liverpool to SanFrancisco.  Gordon shows up in the 1930 census as a furniture designer and manufacturer.

In 1936 on reaching 16 years I was taken away from school and spent some months attending father’s office, he then obtained a position for me in a furniture factory. Mother sold the house at Pennant Hills and moved to Mosman and I re-joined the family."