Beloved Father

 

Charles Edwin Powell was born 1901 in Liverpool. Charles and his family were frequent visitors in Hoylake, Blackpool before moving there during World War II. In 1926, Charles married Lillian Roby and they had three children: Charles, Anthony, and Cynthia. While Lillian was pregnant with Cynthia during the war in 1939, Charles worked as an Air Raid Warden at Kingsport Post. Their two sons were sent to North Wales for protection from the bombs. Lillian was in a bed & breakfast with other pregnant mothers where she gave birth while Charles paced the outside rainy streets. In 1940, Charles became a member of the Hoylake Recreation Bowling Club, served as secretary up until his death. After the war, Charles worked as a commercial salesman for General Electric Company in Liverpool; while Cynthia attended Junior Art College in Liverpool, she and her dad would travel by train every morning and he carried a bag of sweets for his customers. In May of 1957, Charles was diagnosed with lung cancer and died the following month on June 16, 1957 at home. 

Do You Swear?

"He didn't have an angry bone in his body. He only ever smacked me once in my life when I was about 12 and I swore. He must have been feeling unusually bad-tempered and fraught that particular night. He was a salesman for the electrical company GEC and he was working on those endless books that salesmen have to fill in. Anyway, I suppose I was annoyed that he wasn't taking any notice of me and I came out with the worst word I could think of. The next thing I knew there was a stinging slap on my leg. I couldn't believe it. I was speechless. The fact that Dad had actually smacked me was much worse than the fleeting pain. I never said the offending word again - not in Dad's presence anyway!"

Cynthia, 1994

"I fell in love with a bad boy, whom I knew to be a bad boy. John wasn't the best, but he wasn't the worst. But if my father had still been alive, he wouldn't have got past the front door of our house."

Cynthia

"He was sullen and moody most of the time, and his rages could get out of control.. And he would swear constantly. Really crudely and badly, the sort of words you ought not to say in front of a lady. I wasn't used to hearing language like that - !y parents certainly never cursed - and I did used to find it embarrassing, I don't mind admitting. I used to go bright red a lot in those days,bit John never seemed to care. I think he enjoyed making me feel uncomfortable. It gave him the upper hand."

Cynthia

"I swear sometimes, but I hate to hear women swear, or for man to swear in front of women. Cyn has heard me swear when I'm angry, but she wouldn't like it if anyone started trying to butter her. If they apologized afterwards, she would like them for respecting her though, but she wouldn't like the swearing."

John, 1965

Going Once, Going Twice, Sold!

Cynthia at Christie's Auction House in 1991

I believe the auction bug originally came from Lillian Powell, Cynthia's mother. From my research, Lillian loved to shop and change everything around. I think she couldn't settle on anything and wanted to change everything after Lillian became bored. Auctions were her favorite but money was pretty tight and her husband tried to keep her shopping addiction down ... but ... it simply never worked! It reminds me of an I Love Lucy episode called Lucy Wants New Furniture in the second season. 

"She wasn't that wonderful at housework but she had an eye for beautiful things and she couldn't resist auctions. Every Monday there would be a sale in West Kirby and Dad, who was anxiously counting the pennies, would say: 'Please, love, don't go to the salesroom this week. Please. We've got all these bills to pay.' My mum Lillian was artistic and musical and she and Dad used to give little concert parties. And she'd promise: 'No, Charles. I won't go.' But come Monday she always weakened. She'd wait for dad to disappear round the corner to work and then she'd be off to the salesroom. We'd come home to find a different three-piece suite in the front room, different curtains and a different carpet in the bedroom. Dad would stand there, looking at the re-arranged room in disbelief. 'Oh, Lil - you've done it again!' he'd groan. 'You've done it again.' Being such a regular customer Mum got quite friendly with the men who delivered the furniture and she often invited them in for a cup of tea. One day she bought a great many pictures and prints. 'Please bring them round before Charles gets home,' she begged, realising she might have overdone it a bit this time. But before they arrived, she was unexpectedly called away and the delivery men turned up to find no one home. So they lined up all the pictures along the wall outside the house and chalked on the pavement in front of them: 'All her own work.' Dad came home to find the outdoor gallery in all its extensive splendour and Mum's wings were clipped for quite a while. Despite all this, Dad never got angry with Mum. He didn't have an angry bone in his body."

Cynthia, 1994

A few years later, in August of 1962, Lillian came to visit her children, Tony and Cynthia, in Liverpool from Canada. Although Cynthia was now pregnant, scheduled to marry John, and to move into Brian Epstein's apartment, Lillian did not yet know this and Cynthia couldn't yet tell her (afraid). After checking out where Cynthia was living, Lillian took it upon herself to decorate her daughter's apartment and went in shopping frenzy! 

"I knew I'd have to tell her but I just couldn't find the courage. We spent a few days looking round the shops, having meals together and of course she came to visit my little bedsit. I'd swapped rooms since she left and was now installed in a slightly larger bedsit along the corridor. It was light and airy but Mum shook her head over the room's meagre furnishings. 'Oh dear, this is terrible,' she said glancing critically at the tatty curtains and crumbling rug. 'I'll go back to the salesrooms and get you a decent carpet and some good pots and pans.' Oh, crikey. I thought. Of course this would have been a good moment to tell her about Brian and the flat and the baby but a happy glint had come into Mum's eye at the prospect of another forage round the salesrooms and I couldn't find the words to spoil her fun. A couple of days later she was back in triumph, accompanied by a van containing a beautiful Indian carpet in red with only a few holes in it, some matching lampshades, pots and pans and various oddments of china. She set to work at once, rearranging everything, totally content. Under her deft fingers the little room was soon transformed and she sat back to look at it, very pleased with her handiwork."

Cynthia, 1994

Then, Cynthia told her mother that she was pregnant, going to marry John, and move into Brian's apartment. I think Brian's apartment was already furnished, so I have no idea what Cynthia did with Lillian's shopping... maybe kept the pots and pans, China cutlery, and a few pieces of furniture. 

Fast forward many years later... I'm not sure exactly when, but (not surprisingly) Cynthia, would meet a few trickery drifters that she thought was a friend but turned out not to be. Things were stolen, including her wedding certificate with John. Cynthia went to court to bring it back to her possession.

"No, what happened was that my wedding certificate to John had come up in a sale, and was sold for £5,000. To my knowledge, the certificate was never given away, and I don't know how it came up for sale or who had it, because they aren't allowed to disclose these matters. I was incensed by the fact that somebody was selling my particular wedding certificate, without my knowledge or permission. What I'm doing now is selling what is mine. I'm not against selling things at auctions. My mother was the greatest auction-goer, and so was I when I was young."

Cynthia 1991 

"Yes, Julian has the one thing he really wanted - a Red Indian head-dress! I went to court to get it back after someone had stolen it years ago, and it turned up in a memorabilia sale. I went through the horrors of going to magistrates court to get it back - so Julian wants to keep that for his children."

Cynthia 1991

Cynthia at Christie's Auction House in 1991

In August of 1991, needing money to pay the bills and survive, Cynthia decided to sell her belongings through Christie's Auction House. Cynthia held a second auction in September of 1996. Not surprising, there were criticisms of betraying John's memory (like John would've cared; besides, I am sure Yoko would've stopped some pieces, but as far as I know, Yoko kept herself out) or wanting publicity for herself, but Cynthia defended herself on why she decided to let things go. Of course, there were some items Cynthia later regretted to sell ... However, I am sure her bills got paid.

"I've been carrying these things around for 25 years, from one house to the next, and I'd got to the stage this year that it was all getting too much. My son, Julian, had been to visit, and we'd been having long discussions about John and about life. Julian is 28 now, and we have come to a wonderful sort of understanding about our fate and the extraordinary Lennon legacy left to us by John. So we discussed it then, and I told him how fed up I was with all the things - the artefacts and the books and things. The drawings and cartoons spent their time in a safe or in a bank. They were insured to death, which is crazy, and I was saying to him that I just wanted to get rid of the dead wood. I know it sounds awful. Just the the excess baggage. I also wanted to rid myself of the ghost of the legacy. I feel as though I've put in 25 years of unpaid work on the business in a very strange way, and I just felt that it's time that I came out of the shadows of that legend and came into the sunshine. Now I'm ready to start afresh. I think you can only take so much and it can only taint your life or influence you for so many years without you having had enough - as much as I love the music, and as much as I love the priceless memories of that era."

Cynthia, 1991

"Hopefully it will give me some security. Obviously, as you get older you need more security for whatever may happen. If this gives me the security to be able to do my own thing, which will be to paint and write and do all the things I started out doing years before I was gobbled up by this legend, then it will make me very, very happy."

Cynthia, 1991

"All my memories are intact, but the past is over now. It's time for a change." 

Cynthia, 1991

"I think in life we collect so much baggage, when you have a clearout, you send it to a car-boot sale, etc. My baggage was in demand and sold at Christie's. When you have to pay the bills, you're not proud and you can't take it with you." 

Cynthia, 1999

"I’ve had to sell things but there’s no good looking back and regretting it  I needed to pay the bills. When most people need some money they have a carboot sale… well, I had a very expensive car boot sale.” 

Cynthia 2005

Like grandmother, like mother, and like son. I suppose after being raised by two women who had a thing for auction houses, it's no wonder that Julian caught the auction bug. After John died in 1980, Julian was barely given anything that belong to his father. Why? I don't know... a similar thing happened to Robin Williams with his children and widow: his children had to sue the widow to get access to what Robin had left them and then some. Except, I don't think Julian sued, but he did get rather pissed off to see his father's belongings go up in auction. Hadn't it ever occurred to Yoko that maybe Julian wanted it? Apparently, not. But, whatever the circumstances, and with Julian making his own money (and whatever inheritance he had to fight for from Yoko), he decided to try to buy them back for his family, and have something for his children (that he doesn't have... but never say never!). Another example I can think of on who can relate to Julian's plight would be Mariska Hargitay; her mother was the late Jayne Mansfield who died in 1967 when she was three years old. After Jayne's death, her house got looted and, wouldn't you know it, several of her belongings found it's way to auction houses. There's also people telling her (I'm sure Julian has gotten his fair share) that if she wants Jayne's things back, Mariska would have to pay a price... How nice, right [scarscism]? This person who more than likely stole it from Jayne's home and years later, when her daughter becomes famous, offer to return it for a price.

"A lot of people like to play games at auction. Some people, if they know it's me, will back down so that I've got a chance. There are a lot of very, very wealthy people, so sometimes there is not a chance in hell that I will get the stuff I am going for. But there are some people that will step in the way just to get one over. What can I say? People can be strange."

Julian 2010

"I don't look at it that way. I feel fortunate that I can afford to get some of these items back. I'd rather try to live life to the full. That's all I'm concerned about now."

Julian 2010 

Cynthia at The Beatles Story museum to launch White Feather: The Spirit of Lennon in 2009

In June of 2009, Julian decided to show his Beatles memorabilia collection to the public called White Feather: The Spirit of Lennon held at The Beatles Story in Liverpool; May Pang and Julia Baird attended. A year later, I think because there were fans unable to go to Liverpool to see the exhibition (like me), Julian put together a book, Beatles Memorabilia: The Julian Lennon Collection, released in 2011. 

"John Lennon is an idol to millions of people who grew up loving his music and ideals, but to me he is the father I loved and lost. I hope this exhibition lets people see another aspect of his life and our time together as a family. This collection represents something of great importance to us as it is part of our history.”

Julian, 2009

"Rather than have everything locked up in storage in a safe packed away for no one to see I felt it would be better to be outside, especially in this city, the city of Liverpool for the fans to see."

Julian, 2009

“Slowly but surely I have been gathering things. Nothing was passed down to me after Dad passed. The only way I could actually regain any of my dad’s belongings, or the Beatles work, was to go out and buy them myself. I felt that not only for my sake but also if I have a family of my own, whether it’s in their personal possession or at an exhibition like this, they have a chance to see their family history”.

Julian, 2009

"We've been working on it for about two years. When John died, Julian received nothing in terms of any his treasures. They all went on sale - they were at Christie's and Sotheby's. Julian has spent a lot - a lot - of money buying back things, beautiful things, that were important to John in our lives, for the family. They've been stuck in a bank vault for too long and we thought, this is cruel, we really should put them on show. There are postcards, there are photographs, it's a very family orientated exhibition. It's explaining to those who are interested that there was life before John went to America."

Cynthia, 2009

In 2021, Julian is keeping the auction hereditary alive as he's starting to put his mother's belongings up for auction to raise money for his White Feather Foundation's Cynthia Lennon Scholarship for Girls, usually around Mother's Day (it's in March for United Kingdom) and September for Cynthia's birthday. If you want to own something that belonged to Cynthia, keep an eye out for any announcements! I would, but at this time I don't have deep pockets... But, to be honest, the items that went into auction (so far at this time of writing) are things that aren't my taste, yet, never say never! As for those who are huffing and puffing over Julian selling his mother's things, well, they're his things and what would Julian do with the jewelry and clothes? Last I checked, Julian wouldn't wear them, he doesn't have a wife or long time girlfriend, and why have them sitting in storage collecting dust? Besides, I'm sure Cynthia would've approved, based on her own auction past. She may have known, or it even could've been her idea. After all, Julian knew his mother best!

Father and Brother

 

The Powell Brothers

Charlie and Tony with their father Charles

From Julian Lennon's Instagram

Charles Ronald F. Powell was born in/around 1928. Anthony Powell was born in/around 1931; I do think he had middle names like big brother Charlie but I don't know. I don't know Charlie's middle name F stands for… I know I rant this before about Cynthia's middle name Lillian (short recap: she doesn't have a middle name! There's NO proof!) but it wasn't unusual for a girl not to have a middle name as it was said the maiden name becomes middle after getting married. At least, that's what's been explained to me by my grandmother who didn't have a middle name and didn't give her daughters one either yet my mom gave me a middle name because she always wanted one and to differentiate me from my Aunt who I'm named after. Okay, less about me! Let's get back to the subject, Charlie was over ten years older than Cynthia while Tony was about 8 years older so by the time Cynthia was five, Charlie was out of the house at the age of 16. Despite their age difference, they did seem to be very close. Both Charlie and Tony were born in Liverpool until World War II, they were evacuated to North Wales for safety, armed with stock and soda pops to live with a family. Meanwhile, Lillian went to a bed & breakfast hotel in Hoylake, Blackpool with other pregnant mothers where she gave birth to Cynthia. The family was soon reunited and settled in Hoylake; when bombers flew overhead, Lillian would swoop the children into a cupboard under the stairs. It was Cynthia's job to clean their shoes. Charlie had a few girlfriends that he would bring to the house, including the fashion designer I referred in a previous post about Cynthia as an artist. Lillian, not exactly I would call the best housekeeper, would slick and span the house… I suppose Cynthia knew someone would be coming when her mother had a dustrag in one hand and a vacuum in the other. There was another girlfriend named Katie, who accompanied Charlie to Tony's wedding in 1960 and met Cynthia's boyfriend John Lennon. One day while both John and Charlie were at the Powell family home, Charlie noticed John didn't have any money so he gave him a pile of old sweaters. Since then, John had a soft spot for Charlie. Charlie went to work for GEC like their father Charles, selling electric appliances to shops in Birmingham and London while Charles did Liverpool. Charlie could play the piano. Eventually he moved to Libya and must have had a connection with lawyers as when Lillian contacted him when Cynthia and John decided to divorce in 1968, Charlie came to London to hook Cynthia up with a lawyer. 

Wedding invitation for Charlie and Penny in February of 1967

From Dorothy Jarlett's collection

Well, a year before the drama of John and Cynthia's divorce, Charles got married to Penelope Anne Jackson on February 25, 1967 at St. Bartholomew's Church in Corsham (close to Bristol and Bath), England and the reception at The Rudloe Park Hotel. It's an almost 2 hour drive from Weybridge, Surrey. I don't know for sure if John attended but most chronology books have The Beatles doing EMI recording sessions for Sgt. Pepper's so it's very possible that John did go. After 1968, I don't know what happened to Charlie. I just know he remained married to Penny as she's mentioned in Cynthia's acknowledgements in her John book. I don't know if they had children. I don't even know if Charlie is still alive; if he is, he would be 92 at this time of writing.

Tony and Marjorie with their families for their wedding in April of 1960 with bridesmaid Cynthia and her boyfriend John Lennon behind her.

From Cynthia Lennon's collection

While Cynthia had little memories of Charlie being home while growing up, she was much closer to Tony. When he was 18, Tony was enlisted to the National Service (Army). After he returned home, Tony had a girlfriend and joined the police to please her but was unhappy with the occupation. After they broke up, Tony was more than happy to resign. I don't know what Tony settled to do but he definitely worked and lived in Liverpool. He married Marjorie Joyce in April of 1960 with Cynthia as a bridesmaid and accompanied by John, who met her brothers and the rest of her family that day. Tony and John got along well, they shared the same sense of dry humor. In April of 1961, Lillian moved to Canada to help take care of her niece's baby; the next year in August of 1962, she came back to Liverpool for a visit and stayed with Tony. By that time, Cynthia already found out she was pregnant and couldn't find the words to tell her mother until the last day of her trip on August 21, 1962. I suppose that's when Tony found out he was going to be an Uncle. The next day, the 22nd of August, Lillian returned to Canada. Cynthia, Tony, and Marjorie sent her off with Cynthia crying so bad that her brother and sister-in-law had to support her to leave. Tony and Marjorie attended Cynthia's wedding to John the following day on August 23, 1962 but had to depart right after to go to work. During her pregnancy and living in Brian Epstein's apartment, Cynthia did stay with Tony, I guess for the weekend, while John was home… which is rather surprising as she would have relished to be with him as his home days were starting to get far and few apart… but who knows? Not long after, Cynthia nearly suffered a miscarriage and was instructed to stay in bed for three days; Tony came by to check in while John was on tour. I don't know if Tony visited Cynthia at Mimi's house- he could have. And, that's all I know about Tony, not much after 1962. I don't know if Marjorie and Tony had children. I do know that Tony died and Cynthia attended his funeral- I don't know when it happened. 

Marjorie and Cynthia at a party in 1956

From Cynthia Lennon's collection

John Charles Julian Lennon

John - named after John Lennon

Charles - named after Charles Powell

Julian - named after Julia Stanley Lennon

At the time of 1963, I suppose it was difficult to determine the gender of the baby. There were no ultrasounds then until the late 1970s. So, it makes perfect sense to have names for both boy and girl to be prepared for anything. I don't know when John and Cynthia talked about and settled on the names- probably whenever John was home or maybe even their conversations over the phone; it's like any couple expecting a baby to discuss names. It seemed straight off the bat that both wanted family names for their baby. Both Charles and Julia were quickly on the table after their deceased parent. Actually, Julia was going to be named for either girl or boy, no matter what; the name Julian for a boy was the closest they could come to. I am very sure that it was John who wanted his child named after his mother and it was Cynthia who came up with Julian for a boy option. There was a moment worry for John when someone (who? I wonder! This part of the conversation must have been over the phone and it could be either Paul or George who knew for sure that Cynthia was pregnant; Ringo is iffy) thought the name Julian sounded poofy, sissy sounding but John and Cynthia laughed it off. Naming their child after a loved one was more important!

Then there's Charles. Definitely on the table for a boy, but for a girl? I am guessing that the girl would be Julia Lennon, but would she have a middle name? Cynthia didn't have a middle name (I know about this Lillian middle name business and I will rant about that make-believe middle name in another post!) but her mother Lillian Anne did. John's mother Julia and his Aunt Harrie didn't have middle names and yet their older sisters, Mimi, Mater, and Nanny, did. So, let's give the girl middle name a benefit of the doubt… I Googled female names for Charles and here's what popped up: Charlotte, Caroline, Charlie (or Charley), Cara, Charlesa, Charleigh, Charlene, Charlize, Carlotta… you get the idea. I especially like Charlotte and Caroline but who knew how Cynthia and John felt about those options? Julia Charlotte? Julia Caroline? Julia Charlene? Honestly, all those could work with Julia! Or just plain Julia Lennon and save Charles for a second child option (another separate post plan!).

Finally, John. After the sperm-man. The father. John Winston Lennon. My betting money will go on Cynthia for thinking up with that one for her baby. Although I don't think John wanted his son to be a Junior, as he hated his middle name Winston (after England's Prime Minister, Winston Churchill) and went as far to try to change it in 1969 to Ono but due to unique circumstances in England, John couldn't omit Winston and had to settle as John Winston Ono Lennon instead.

Interestingly enough, in 1975, John had another son with Yoko Ono and they named him Sean Taro Ono Lennon. Why is that interesting? Well… Sean is the Irish version of John; Taro is a Japanese version of John (and Ono is after, you guess it, Yoko!). So, technically speaking, Sean’s name is actually John John Ono Lennon! But since Julian already had a claim of John and there was a baby that Yoko miscarried in 1968 named John Ono Lennon II (Seriously?) John and Yoko settled on Sean Taro. So, John has both (well, three, if you count the deceased baby) of his boys named after him.

Julian and Cynthia in Liverpool, Autumn of 1963

Photographed by David Birch

Now, I don't know when Cynthia decided to nickname her son Julian. It sounded like it happened right away but from what Julian said of the name confusion it may have taken a while. I think it is definitely clear that Julian was Julian by 1964.

“We’d already decided that if the baby was a girl she would be called Julia after John’s late mother. A boy was to be John Charles Julian. In the end, two Johns proved confusing, my eldest brother was already Charles, so the baby became Julian.”

Cynthia, 1994

"When I was a baby and my parents were still together, I was called 'John' and there was always confusion. My mum would say, 'John, come here,' and we wouldn't know which one. So they started calling me Julian to clear up that problem. The name fits me"
Julian, 1985

“I didn't decide. What really happened was Mum shouting, you know, 'John! Come in here, your dinner’s ready!’ We both come running in, so Mum started calling me Julian.”

Julian, 2013

Billy J. Kramer

To mark his son’s birth in a silent clever way, John suggested to Brian Epstein to add a J to another of his client's Billy Kramer and the Dakotas. John thought Billy J. Kramer had a better flow. Brian agreed and I guess Billy was up for it but wasn't too keen on what it really stood for…

“He actually put the J in my name. I went into Brian’s office, and he said, ‘John’s got a suggestion. How about Billy ‘J’ Kramer. It’s American sounding, it’s catchy. It flows.’ And I said, ‘What do I say if someone asks what it stands for?’ And he said, ‘Julian’. Now, I didn’t even know John was married, let alone had a son called Julian, so I said, ‘I don’t like that name, that’s a real poofter’s name!’”

Billy J. Kramer, 1985

“At the time I said, ‘What if anybody asks me what does it stand for,’ and John said, ‘Julian.' I said, ‘I don't really like that name.’ I didn't know that John was married at the time with a son. But that's what I said.”

Billy J. Kramer

“Shortly afterwards I was called into a meeting with Brian at his office and John Lennon was there. Brian said to me: ‘John's come up with an idea. He thinks your name would sound much better if we added the initial 'J' to it. How does Billy J. Kramer sound?’ I said: 'That's okay by me, but what do I say to the press if they ask me what the 'J' stands for?’ John said 'You can tell them it stands for Julian.' To tell you the truth, I thought Julian sounded like a puff's name and I refused to use it. I didn't know at the time that John had a son and had named him Julian in memory of his mother."

Billy J. Kramer

As of 2008 when I met Billy at Beatles Fest in Las Vegas, he had never met Julian. Billy has met Cynthia a few times which will come up as the blog continues on…

For John's part, he did call Julian 'Julian’ so he was all for the nickname. He also never forgot Julian's two names, John and Charles. I have heard from time to time that John called Julian 'J. C. J.’, he even addressed Julian on a postcard as 'J. C. Julian’ as shown on the second postcard below in 1979.

John's postcard to his Aunt Mater and cousin Stan mentioning 'John Charles Julian', May of 1963

John's postcard to 'J. C. Julian' in Ruthin, Wales from New York City, April of 1979

Volume 1: Meet the Family

Cynthia Powell was born to Charles Edwin and Lillian Anne Roby Powell on September 10, 1939 in Blackpool, England.

John Winston Lennon was born to Alfred and Julia Stanley Lennon on October 9, 1940 in Liverpool, England.

John and his mother Julia in 1949

By the time John and Cynthia started dating, John's mother Julia and Cynthia's father Charles were already deceased. John's father Alfred was pretty much long gone and out of John's life at this point and he was living with Julia’s eldest sister Mimi (who deserves her own post!) since he was five. Although he saw his mother occasionally while growing up, they didn't get to spend more time together until his teens. Cynthia was living with her mother and she had a normal childhood; she had both of her parents until her father died of lung cancer. His death shattered Lillian and Cynthia to the point where Cynthia was willing to drop her art college dreams but her mother insisted to pursued her dreams. They would find ways to manage.

Some say that Julia would have loved Cynthia while she believed that if her father had lived, Charles wouldn't have liked John…

“Mummy would have loved her and the adoring way she was with John.”

Julia Baird

“I knew Dad would have advised me against him and perhaps I would have listened. But Dad wasn't there and Mum was still too weighed down by her own grief to guide me. So I plunged right in and went for broke.”

Cynthia, 1994

“Even so, had my father not died when I was 17, I think that's exactly what I would have done- ignore it. I could never have taken John home to meet my beloved Dad. My gentle, unassuming father just wouldn't have understood John and I knew it. With Dad there to guide me, I think I’d steered well clear of 'dangerous’ John Lennon. But there you are, he wasn't, and I plunged joyfully into the deep end. That's fate. John and I were obviously meant to be together.”

Cynthia, 1994

When John and Cynthia became a solid couple and this wasn't going to be a passing affair, they decided it was time to meet the families. Lillian did take notice of how often Cynthia was out while Mimi was aware of Cynthia's existence… but as I wrote earlier, Mimi will have a post all of her own.

Then, there's Alfred. He was a Seaman, working at… well, the sea! It seemed to have been a big job in those days. After all, Liverpool was the biggest industrialized porting city in the world in that time! He’d come home at various inconsistency times while John was a toddler. Julia wasn't too happy about that and had an affair with an another man. She got pregnant; during his visits, Freddie seemed to have understood the affair and offered to raise the baby as his own. But Julia refused. He was away far more than he was at home. Freddie left Julia for good and only returned once to take five years old John to Blackpool. John started living with Mimi at the time; how Alfred managed to get John away, he must've been quite a charmer for Mimi to relent. After the due date came and went to return John to Mimi, Alfred was deciding to keep John with him. But Julia discovered his whereabouts and John chosed to go back to Liverpool with Julia, back to Mimi. It would be 20 years later for father and son to reunite. As for the baby, well, she was given up for adoption as Julia had very few to no options else to do in 1945. Anyway, while John and Cynthia were getting to know each other, Alfred was a rare subject. John's fairytale belief was that his father had a great singing voice, a hero in the distance with important work on the sea. Cynthia did eventually meet Alfred when she was already John's wife, mother of Julian, and living in a mansion- but that's for Volume 2 of family members (Volume 1 is dating, Volume 2 is marriage and beyond). History does tend to repeat itself in the Lennon family.

At first sight, possibly by first discussion, it was quite clear that Lillian and John weren't each other's favorite person. I suppose the best way to put this is that they tolerated each other (up to a point) for Cynthia's sake. Yet, Cynthia always said Lillian and John got along, while everyone else says opposite. Maybe she was in denial or wanted to focus on positive so much that the negative faded? Who knows? Lillian would have preferred if Cynthia had a much better potential future boyfriend rather than some Teddy Boy rocker with attitude. According to Pete Shotton, Lillian had Cynthia under her thumb.

“I wasn't in a hurry to introduce John to my mother. I wanted to prepare her for the shock. He was never over polite and he looked so scruffy and like a Teddy Boy. My mother played it cool. She was good, really, though I'm sure she was hoping for it to peter out. But she never tried to stop it.”

Cynthia, 1968

“He ran out of the house after he and Mum hadn't got on well. It was all very tense, that first meeting. I ran after him and found him halfway between the house and the station. He wanted to get back to Liverpool quickly. But I persuaded him to return and patch up the argument for my sake. Mum wasn't mad about his appearance and made it clear to him. She’d much rather I’d chosen a clean-cut office type.”

Cynthia, 1985

Cynthia's father Charles and her two brothers, Charles and Tony circa 1931

From Julian Lennon's Instagram @julespicturepalace

Cynthia told a familiar story of John leaving her house in her 2005 book (John) and she chasing after him but used it for the time Lillian and Mimi met face to face. Did John run out of the house on both occasions? I’ll discuss more on that momentarily. Anyway, after that first meeting, John rarely went over to the Powell family home while dating Cynthia. More about John and Lillian's relationship in Volume 2.

The one other rare time John was visiting Cynthia's family home, her eldest brother Charles was visiting. He realized John had little money and offered him his old sweaters. John was touched and from that moment on (at least until the divorce), John had a soft spot for Charles. Charles eventually moved to Libya and in February of 1967, he married Penny Jackson. John met Cynthia's other older brother, Tony, at his wedding to Marjory Joyce in April of 1960. Cynthia was the bridesmaid and John agreed to go and surprised Cynthia by dressing in a suit, wore his glasses, and was on his best behavior to meet her extended family for the first time. John bonded with Tony by their sense of humor. Tony and Marjory were the only family guests to later attend John and Cynthia's wedding in 1962.

I don't know exactly when John and Cynthia decided that it was time for Lillian and Mimi to meet. Of course it was inevitable. Lillian and Mimi did have a few things in common: both were widows, taken in lodgers to help make ends meet, both grew up in the same generation. John and Cynthia probably thought the women could be best friends and have an once a week tea get together. Nope. Well, at first, it went well. Cynthia and Lillian tidied up their house, used their best plates and silverware, and John even looked decent. There was a pleasant conversation that was just about to become a relaxing atmosphere when, bang! Mimi made a comment about Cynthia taking John's attention away from his studies. Let's be honest here, folks… Cynthia is not to blame on that accusation. Maybe partial but it was definitely music! Naturally, Lillian defended Cynthia and the two women went at it, picking faults about John and Cynthia. After that meeting, Lillian and Mimi were mostly kept apart.

“John and I were very upset. We were both in love with each other, and for the two dearest people in our lives to stand in front of us saying what terrible people we were, and how they hated us for getting together, was awful. I think they did it because they didn't get on and they didn't want us to get on either. But the experience was horrible.”

Cynthia, 1985