Alfred Lennon
Alfred Lennon | |
|---|---|
| Occupation(s) | Office-boy, bellboy, Steward, Dishwasher |
| Spouse(s) | Julia Lennon, Pauline Lennon (née Jones) |
| Children | John Lennon (with Julia) David Henry, and Robin Francis (with Pauline) |
| Parent(s) | Jack and Mary 'Polly' (née Maguire) Lennon |
Alfred "Freddie" Lennon (14 December 1912 – 1 April 1976) was the father of English musician John Lennon. He was absent during much of John's childhood, and this deeply affected John. Alf is referenced in the song "Mother" with the line "Father, you left me/But I never left you/I needed you/You didn't need me... Daddy Come Home". In place of Freddie, John's Uncle George provided him with a father figure in his early years.
The Lennon family
The original family name was O'Leannain, when they moved to Liverpool during the Irish potato famine (1845-1859).[1] Freddie's grandfather was a professional singer in Ireland, and Freddie's father, Jack Lennon, was a "refined" British minstrel who toured America with 'Robertson's Kentucky Minstrels' Vaudeville troupe in the late 1800s.[2] Jack's first wife died and he became a shipping clerk, living in a terraced house at 27 Copperfield Street, Liverpool. He married his housekeeper, Mary 'Polly' Maguire, who had eight children, but only six survived (five boys and one girl). Jack Lennon died of liver disease in 1919.[3][4]
Alfred 'Freddie' Lennon (always called 'Alf' by his family) was only seven-years-old when his mother died whilst giving birth to his youngest brother.[5] His father dided soon after, so Freddie and his eldest brother (Charles) were sent to the Bluecoat Orphanage in Liverpool, which was around the corner from Newcastle Road (where Julia Stanley lived). He was known as being happy-go-lucky who "couldn't resist having a good time".[3] Freddie had rickets as a child and wore leg-irons. Consequently, his growth was stunted at 5'4".
In 1927, Alfred auditioned for a children's music hall act, Will Murray's Gang, at the Liverpool Empire Theatre. Having passed the audition he ran away from the orphanage and joined the show. Freddie travelled with the troupe for a time before being discovered in Glasgow and returned to the orphanage, where he was severely punished.
Freddie was known as being always quick with a joke or a witty line, but never held a job for any length of time. When he was 15-years-old he left the Bluecoat orphanage and found a job as an 'office boy', but he preferred to visit Liverpool's many vaudeville theatres and cinemas, where he knew the usherettes by name.[5] His brother, Sydney, got a job in tailor's shop, and often lent money to Freddie.[3]
Julia
It was at the 'Trocadero' club (a converted cinema on Camden Road, Liverpool) that Freddie first saw an auburn-haired girl with a bright smile and high cheekbones; Julia Stanley.[6] Although Freddie did not speak to her, he saw Julia again in Sefton Park, where Freddie had gone with a friend to pick up girls. Freddie, who was dressed in a bowler hat and holding a cigarette holder, saw "this little waif" sitting on a wrought-iron bench. The 14-year-old Julia said that Freddie's hat looked "silly", to which Freddie replied that Julia looked "lovely", and sat down next to her. Julia asked Freddie to take off his hat, so Freddie promptly took it off and threw it straight into the lake.[7]
Freddie was musical, and specialised in impersonating Satchmo and Al Jolson. He played the banjo, (as did Julia) though neither Freddie or Julia pursued music professionally. They spent their days together walking around Liverpool and dreaming of what they would do in the future—like opening a shop, a pub, a cafe, or a club.[8] In March 1938, Alfred took a job as bellboy on board the Cunard passenger liner SS Montrose. He kept in touch with Julia, writing to her and meeting her whenever he docked in Liverpool.
On 3 December 1938, eleven years after they had first met, Julia married Freddie after proposing to him.[9] They were married in a Register office and Julia wrote 'cinema usherette' on the marriage certificate as her occupation, even though she had never been one.[5] None of Julia's family were there, but Freddie's brother Sydney acted as a witness. They spent their honeymoon eating at 'Reece's' restaurant in Clayton Square (which is where John Lennon would later celebrate after his marriage to Cynthia Powell)[10] and then went to a cinema.[5] On their wedding night Julia stayed at the Stanley's house and Freddie went back to his rooming house.
Julia's family did not like Alfred at all: Julia's father said Freddie was "certainly not middle class," and Julia's sister Mimi was particularly opposed to him.[5] Julia's father demanded that Freddie present something concrete to show that he could financially support Julia, but Freddie's only idea was to sign on as a Merchant Navy bellboy on a ship bound for the Mediterranean. He later worked on Ocean liners that travelled between the Greek islands, North Africa and The West Indies. Freddie graduated from bellboy to Steward during the months he was away, but when he arrived back in Liverpool he moved into the Stanley home in Newcastle Road. He auditioned for local theatre managers as a 'ship's entertainer', but had no success, and went back to sea.[8]
John
Julia found out that she was pregnant in January of 1940. John Lennon was born on 9 October 1940 in the second-floor ward of the Oxford Street Maternity Hospital in Liverpool, during the course of a German air raid in World War II.[8] Freddie first saw John that November when he returned from working as a merchant seaman on Troop transports during World War II. He sent regular pay cheques to Julia, who lived with John at 9 Newcastle Road. Freddie occasionally went back to Liverpool, but did not stay long before he was sent off on another ship. [11] The cheques to Julia stopped when Freddie went AWOL in 1943. Neither Julia nor the Merchant Navy knew of Freddie's whereabouts. Julia only found out because she stopped receiving her allowance money, and the Navy wrote to her to inform her they were looking for Freddie.[11]
Julia had started going out to dance halls in 1942, and she met a Welsh soldier named 'Taffy' Williams who was stationed in the barracks at Mossley Hill. Freddie blamed himself for this, as he had written letters telling Julia that because there was a war on, she should go out and enjoy herself.[11] After an evening out, Julia often gave the young John a piece of choclate or sugar pastry the next morning for breakfast.[12] She became pregnant by Williams in late 1944, though first claiming that she had been raped by an unknown soldier.[13]
When Freddie Lennon eventually came home in 1944, he offered to look after Julia, John, and the expected baby, but Julia rejected the idea. Freddie took John to his brother Sydney's house, in the Liverpool suburb of Maghull, a few months before Julia came to term. The baby girl, Victoria, was subsequently given up for adoption to a Norwegian Salvation Army Captain.[14]
In July 1946, Freddie visited Mimi's house at 251 Menlove Avenue and took John to Blackpool for a long 'holiday', secretly intending to emigrate to New Zealand with him.[15] Julia and Dykins found out and followed them, and after a heated argument Freddie made the five-year-old John choose between Julia or him. John chose Freddie (twice) and then Julia walked away, but in the end John, crying, followed her.[16] Freddie lost contact with the family until Beatlemania, when he and John met again.[17] In 1968, John told Hunter Davies that he soon forgot his father, saying, "It was like he was dead."[3]
Later Life
Freddie later told his version of what happened while he was AWOL in the 1940s. He claimed that he had sailed from America to North Africa, but was arrested for stealing beer from the ship—consequently serving nine days in a military prison. After his release he became involved in various "shady deals", and was supposedly rescued from a criminal gang of Arabs. He eventually served on a troop ship from North Africa to Italy and finally found a ship that was making its way to England in 1944.[2]
In 1949 Alfred's career at sea ended when he was sentenced to six months imprisonment. He had been drinking when, late at night, he spotted a mannequin in a wedding dress in a shop window. He broke the window, gathered the mannequin up in his arms and proceeded to dance in the street.
Alfred made no real attempt to contact his son again until the height of Beatlemania. A newspaper paid Alfred to tell his story and arranged for him to meet John on the set of A Hard Day's Night. John was not pleased to see his father.
In 1965 Alfred made a further attempt to "cash in" on his famous son when he released the autobiographical record That's My Life (My Love and My Home), co-written with Tony Cartwright. The song did poorly and was panned by critics. Ray Coleman in particular, knocks the song in Lennon: The Definitive Biography.
Alfred and John did not speak for many years, but in 1967, Alfred's brother Charlie wrote to John, urging him to hear his father's side of the story. This led to a rekindling of the relationship. However, the relationship was strained. John grew angry with his father while embracing primal scream therapy. The situation was made worse when Alfred, accompanied by his new wife Pauline Jones (a woman thirty five years younger than Alfred, and seven years younger than John), attended a birthday party for John. Alfred presented his newly bearded son with a bottle of aftershave, causing John to lose his temper with his father.
Alfred had two sons with Pauline, David Henry Lennon and Robin Francis Lennon. John was unsure of his father's relationship with a woman so young, especially considering the disapproval of Pauline's mother.
Death
By 1976, Alfred had contracted terminal stomach cancer. Pauline contacted John via Apple to make sure he knew his father was dying. John phoned his father and sent a large bouquet of flowers to the hospital. When Alfred died, John offered to pay for the funeral. Pauline refused, preferring to pay for the arrangements herself.[18]
Notes
- ^ Spitz - p17.
- ^ a b The Lennon’s timeline Retrieved: 30 January 2007
- ^ a b c d Spitz 2006. p21
- ^ Mersey Beat, ‘Uncle Charlie’ Retrieved: 30 January 2007
- ^ a b c d e Cynthia Lennon – “John” 2006. p53.
- ^ Spitz 2006. pp21-22.
- ^ Spitz 2006. p22.
- ^ a b c Spitz 2006. p23. Cite error: The named reference "Spitzp23" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
- ^ Spitz 2006. pp20-21.
- ^ Spitz 2006. p349.
- ^ a b c Spitz 2006. p25.
- ^ Spitz 2006. pp25-26.
- ^ Spitz 2006. pp26-27.
- ^ Spitz 2006. p27.
- ^ Cynthia Lennon - “John” 2006. p56.
- ^ Spitz 2006. p29
- ^ Spitz 2006. p30.
- ^ The Argus: 13 April 2004 Retrieved: 23 January 2007
References
- Lennon, Cynthia (2006). John. Hodder & Stoughton. ISBN 0340898283.
{{cite book}}: Check date values in:|year=(help) - Miles, Barry (1998). Many Years From Now. Vintage-Random House. ISBN 0-7493-8658-4.
{{cite book}}: Check date values in:|year=(help) - Spitz, Bob (2006). The Beatles: The Biography. Little, Brown and Company (New York). ISBN 1845131606.
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