Alfred Lennon is the father of the famous English singer and leader of the Liverpool four. It was he who partly instilled in John a love of music. Alfred Lennon himself was also a singer, played in a group and recorded several songs. However, he could not realize himself as a musician. The article will present his brief biography.
Alfred Lennon: Family
James and Jane - the grandfather and grandmother of the hero of this article - came to Liverpool from Down (Northern Ireland) in the 40s of the nineteenth century. In 1849 they were married. One of their seven children named John (“Jack”) became Alfred's father. In 1888, he married Margaret Cowley. The girl gave birth to two children - Michael and Mary Elizabeth, but died during childbirth. After the death of his wife, John met Mary Magire and began to live with her in a civil marriage. The couple had fifteen children (eight of them died in infancy). Among the survivors was Alfred, who was born in 1912.
Lennons then lived on Copperfield Street. But soon John and Mary entered into a legal marriage, and the whole family moved to Everton. Magire gave birth to two more children - Charles and Edith. Then the Lennons again had to move to Copperfield Street. There, in 1921, John died. Mary could not independently provide all the children, so she had to send Edith and Alfred to an orphanage. The mother of the hero of this article lived another twenty-eight years and died in 1949.
Childhood
According to the recollections of relatives, Alfred Lennon grew up a cheerful young man. He never refused to have a good time. In childhood, the boy was ill with rickets. As a result, he was able to grow only to 160 centimeters. In 1927, Alfred escaped from the orphanage, joining Will Murray's musical youth group. Lennon toured with her for a while, but he was soon detained in Glasgow and sent back to the shelter. Then the young man finally left this institution and began to work.
But Alfred did not linger for a long time. He often borrowed money from his brother Sidney, who worked with a tailor. And most of his time, the young man had fun, being on vaudeville and in movie theaters.
First love
Alfred Lennon once walked with a friend in Sefton Park. On one of the benches sat 14-year-old Julia Stanley. When the girl saw 15-year-old Alfred passing by, she stated that his hat looked pretty stupid. The boy, on the contrary, answered her with a compliment, saying that Julia herself looked charming. After that, Alfred sat next to her on a bench. The girl asked him to take off his ugly hat, and without hesitation he threw the bowler hat into the lake.
Later, the young people became very friendly. Both were very fond of music. Alfred often imitated the singing of Al Johnson and Louis Armstrong. In addition, he, like Julia, was able to perfectly play the banjo (kind of guitar). The couple often walked around Liverpool and dreamed of a joint business in the future, intending to open a store, club, pub or cafe.
Wedding
Alfred Lennon and Julia Stanley got married only eleven years after their first meeting. Moreover, the proposal was not made at all by the hero of this article, but vice versa. The girl's family was against this marriage, so none of them came to the wedding. And Alfred invited his brother Sidney as a witness.
The celebration took place at Clayton Square in the Rice Restaurant. Well, after the young people went to the cinema. The couple spent the wedding night separately.
Family replenishment
January 1940 is the time when he learned about the pregnancy of his wife Alfred Lennon. Son John Winston was born in October at the maternity hospital in Oxford Street. Alfred did not see him immediately, but only a month after birth, since he worked on a military ship and could not return to England on time. So he was at home on short visits, but regularly sent money to his wife and son. In 1943, checks from Lennon stopped coming. Soon, Julia found out that her husband had deserted.
Disorder
The wife did not miss during Alfred's absence. She entered into a relationship with the soldier Taffy Williams and even gave birth to a child from him. But under the pressure of her family, Julia had to give him into the care of one married couple from Norway. She did not officially file a divorce from Alfred. Soon, the girl found a new boyfriend - Bobby Daikins - and began to live with him. And John was at this time with Sydney (brother of Alfred).
In the summer of 1946, the boy stayed with his aunt on Menlow Avenue. Alfred arrived there and said that he was taking his son for a vacation to Blackpool. In fact, he was going to emigrate with him to New Zealand. Julia found out about this and immediately arrived. After heated debate, Alfred told five-year-old John to choose with whom he would stay. The future leader of the Liverpool four twice called the name of his father. After Julia walked away, the boy burst into tears and ran after her. Since then, Alfred has not seen anyone from his family until the time of the Beatlemania.
Future life
Later, the hero of this article talked about what happened to him in 1943 after unauthorized departure from the ship. Lennon sailed to North Africa (Bon). He was soon arrested for stealing a bottle of beer and imprisoned for nine days. After the release, Alfred was engaged in various "dark affairs." Then he got a job working on a ship cruising between Italy and North Africa. And only in 1944, he finally was able to return by sea to England. Five years later, Alfred was forced to end his career as a ship steward. The thing was that he served six months in prison. Lennon received his term for drunk breaking the shop window late at night, taking a mannequin in a wedding dress from there and began to dance with him in the middle of the street.
Meeting with son
Before the peak of Beatlemania, Alfred had never seen John and did not know who the Beatles were. Lennon Sr. worked at the Greyhound Hotel in the kitchen. Once, one of the visitors showed him a newspaper article with a photograph of John and asked if he had a relative. Later, Alfred visited the Beatles Christmas show.
Soon, in the company of a journalist, he came to the office of group manager Brian Epstein and announced that he was John's father. Brian was in a panic and sent a car for the musician. When John arrived, Alfred gave him a hand, but he refused to shake it. Their conversation was short: the singer very quickly put his father out of the office.
Album Release
At the end of 1965, Alfred Lennon released the single "This Is My Life." With this act, he very embarrassed his son. John asked his manager Epstein to do everything necessary so that the composition did not become a hit. Brian did his best - the song did not fall into any of the rating tables. In 1966, Alfred released three singles again in collaboration with Loving Kind. But even this attempt was unsuccessful. But now these singles have collectible value. For example, “This is my life” costs more than 50 pounds.
New marriage
In 1966, Alfred met 18-year-old Pauline Jones, who studied at the University of Exeter. The newly made couple for a long time persuaded the girl's mother to give them permission to marry. Soon, the lovers got tired of it, and they decided to escape to Scotland, where they got married in the village of Gretna Green. To arrange a spouse for work is the goal that Alfred Lennon set himself after some time.
John Lennon's son, Julian, was left without a nanny. Alfred asked him to take Pauline for this position. So, she moved to Kenwood and began to look after Julian. Also, the girl went through numerous letters from fans of John. A few months later Alfred moved with his wife to Brighton. There their children were born - Robin Francis and David Henry.
