The Curley Clan - a poem by Doris AM Lawrence

"The Curley Clan" is a poem by my first cousin-once-removed, Doris A. M. Lawrence. I hope that she does not mind me reprinting it here. Doris kindly sent me a photocopy of the poem a few years ago, when it was published in a book edited by Carl Chinn along with other poems about Birmingham families by local writers.

This poem is a lovely commentary on aspects of the social history of the Curley family who lived in some of the poorest areas of Birmingham. The poem talks about my great-grandmother (Doris' grandmother) Mary Driscoll, and her thirteen children. My grandfather, Cornelius was the eldest. Doris' mother Doris was the fourth child of thirteen. Mary Driscoll and her husband, Thomas Curley, had two girls and eleven boys in total.

From the ages of the children named in this poem, I would think that Doris has placed the events of the story occurring just after the first world war. Unfortunately with the photocopy I have, a line or so is chopped off one of the verses, but it still makes very interesting reading. I have also been informed that in one of the Carl Chinn Birmingham history books about local areas, there may exist a couple of pictures of some of the Curley brothers as youngsters. I hope to be able to find these and put some up on this website.