"But it's not the house as a building that concerns us, it's what it symbolises. Had it ever been my mother's home, then of course we'd care about its bricks and mortar. But it was bought for us really as a nest egg, as security and our inheritance. It represents what John wanted to do for us in securing our future."
Julia Baird, 1998
Uncle Norman, cousins Michael and David with sisters Julia and Jacqui, along with Aunts Mater, Harrie and Mimi sitting in front as they gather to attend the Liverpool premiere of A Hard Day's Night on July 10, 1964
After hearing about Bobby Dykins' death, John and Cynthia thought about Julia and Jacqui's future. Julia was about 18, 19 years old and going to college while Jacqui was 16. After their father's death, they decided to get a house intended for Julia and Jacqui to keep after their Aunt Harriet and Uncle Norman Birch pass away. Cynthia took Harrie and Norman house hunting in Liverpool in 1966.
"Aunt Harriet and Uncle Norman - the girls' guardians - chose a brand new, detached house near Strawberry Fields."
Cynthia, 1998
"I think John and I were naive. Had we thought more about it when the money poured in, we would probably have done things differently for Julia and Jackie, and set up a trust
fund. It's strange to look back and think that I was a millionairess for a short time,
and if I'd known more about money I could have made so many people happy. But because our mentality was very simple in terms of finance, John and I thought that house would always represent security. We could see that the girls, having lost both parents were being pushed from pillar to post, and doing something for them was just part and parcel of our nature. The idea of the house was that they'd have something they could hold onto that was theirs, considering everything else they'd lost."
Cynthia, 1998
Harriet died in December of 1972 after being ill for some years. Norman died on October of 1991 after being hit by a car. After some weeks, lawyers asked his son David to clean and move his parents' possessions out of the house. In December of 1991, Mimi passed away; during her funeral gathering, Cynthia approached Yoko about the house Harrie and Norman lived in was meant to be for Julia and Jacqui and Mimi's home was intended for the whole family as a vacation house. After listening, Yoko walked away without a word. Unknown to Cynthia, Julia, and Jacqui (and everyone else), Yoko already sold Mimi's house. It was soon knocked down and a new house was built. Although that was bad enough, then came the worst: Harrie and Norman's house. By early 1995, David reached out to Julia that the Liverpool Council contacted David to demand council tax over his parents' home; Liverpool Council thought the house belonged to David as next of kin while David (and everyone else in the family) thought as it was under John's name, it belonged to Yoko. The Liverpool Council wanted four years worth of tax owe and were now threatening court if not paid in full. Julia went to Liverpool to get to the bottom of this situation and went to the house, it looked neglected. Apparently, after talking to the neighbors, Julia discovered that British Telecom couldn't trace the ownership when the tree on the property began to interfere the neighborhood wiring system of telephone and cable. She soon discovered that Yoko sold the house to The Salvation Army since November 2, 1993.
"It's not the fault of the Salvation Army or the couple now living there that we've lost it. But what Strawberry Fields signified to John, when he wrote his song about it, was the orphanage that used to stand there. John played there; my sister's best friend came from there. It was part of our childhood and John's. But I feel that Yoko has taken over the mantle of Strawberry Fields without any thought for John's first life, first family and the orphans - Jackie and me - the house there should have gone to."
Julia Baird, 1998
"I know her to be a manipulative in many ways. You know, 'You go and bake the bread, I'll take care of business.' And it was more than the business. There was houses Dad and Mum, when they were together, had bought for Julia, his half sister and their family. She and their family lived there the whole lifetime, you know. And when Dad passed away, Yoko proceeded to take the house from under their feet, basically"
Julian 1999
Cynthia and Julia at Cynthia's home in Normandy, France during Julia’s weekend visit and joint interview for UK’s HELLO! magazine in 1998.
Julia wanted more answers and turned to Yoko. The first conversation didn't go well, at all: Yoko accused Julia of not knowing John hardly at all. They shouted at each other. Then, after deep breaths, Julia called Yoko again: this time around Yoko asked for proof of John wanting Julia and Jacqui to inherit the house. There were letters John wrote to Aunt Mater and to herself, but Julia didn't have Mater's and she burned hers when she moved... that astounded Yoko... nobody burns John's letters! But that was Julia's habit, and, to her, John was her brother, not a celebrity. On that note, Julia and Yoko agreed that they were too angry to continue on. The following week, Yoko and Julia spoke again, but, again, the conversation went nowhere. That same week, Yoko told Julia's cousin Michael (who keeps contact with Yoko and was the one who helped give Julia access) that Julia was never to call her again.
"That house would be all we had left of John - but now it's gone. We recently discovered
that Yoko had given it to the Salvation Army, which really hurts, although it's gone to a
charity. We know that the house was part of John's estate, so legally - and I can't stress
this point enough - it was Yoko's to do as she liked with. Morally however, we feel the
house was ours - it was John's expression of his concern and, as I wrote to Yoko, of
love for our mother and through her for us. I'd like Yoko to acknowledge his intent."
Julia Baird, 1998
"We talked and we argued but finally I was told never to darken her phone again. Paul too spoke to her on our behalf and following his call, Jackie, I and three of our cousins were sent 50,000 dollars - £6,300 apiece - on the 15th anniversary of his death, with a message saying that she hoped we would remember to think kindly of him. As if we needed reminding! We accepted the money as a token on John's anniversary, but as I told Yoko, it didn't solve the problem of the house. It's only fair to say that Jackie and I have been told that if.we asked Yoko for money completely independently of that issue, she would consider it out of her own pocket. She misunderstands - we just want recognition of what John intended for us."
Julia Baird, 1998
Cynthia and Julia at Cynthia's home in Normandy, France during Julia’s weekend visit and joint interview for UK’s HELLO! magazine in 1998.
After Aunt Nanny's death in 1997, Julia couldn't stop thinking about the house, much to Michael's annoyance. It wasn't about the money; it's about love. John was looking after his sisters. Julia knew Michael had a point to let the house go and move on; so, in February of 1998, Julia reached out to Yoko once more by sending her a package. With help from cousin Stan, Cynthia, and a copy of a letter John wrote to Mater (that was eventually found), as well as copies of letters Yoko's own lawyers sent to Norman, whatever proof Julia could get a hold of to prove that John wanted the house to be given to Julia and Jacqui. She heard nothing. Julia tried again, nothing. The third try turned put to be slightly the charm as it finally got Yoko's attention. Her lawyer got in touch: he told Julia that the house was legally Yoko's to do as she pleased. If Julia and Jacqui needed help of financially, Yoko might (might???) help... but this wasn't about the money. Julia wanted the house as a symbolic valuable. There was nothing more Julia could do, so she let it go and kept the feeling that John wanted to look after his sisters.
"I've always believed it was up to me to bring up my own children. Neither Jackie nor I received any wealth from John's estate, though we are the poorest family members. Nor did we ever seek it. When I spoke to John during his years in America he once asked me what I wanted from him and what I told him was 'contact'. I just wanted us to talk. That was the main thing. Naively, I didn't think of the house as an issue because I felt that we all understood the links it represented between John, our mother, Jackie and me. It wouldn't have occurred to me to spell that out, if only because John himself did so - writing to his aunt Elizabeth that he regarded the house as his contribution to looking after us. Also, of course, I assumed we had so much time, the rest of our lives, to sort things out. We couldn't forsee that John would be lost to us as well. Now, the loss of the house is.hard to forget because it seems such an injustice. To me that house is a concrete issue that represents deep abstract emotions."
Julia Baird, 1998
"John couldn't have had more support from any family or friends that he had in those early days. They were utterly devoted to him on a human level quite regardless of whether he was a pop star of wildly famous in a superficial industry. That devotion has never changed and I feel his first family should be remembered. The Beatles' history is going to go on for generations, and it's got to be right - with both sides of the stories, before and after his life with Yoko Ono, upheld. I don't think it inevitable that two successive families should be at odds. Lots of people have first and second marriages, yet retain a modicum of humility and understanding for the circumstances. But when John went to America it was, for a long while, as if this English part of his life was ignored. That, I think was even worse for Julia and Jackie than for me. My marriage broke up. But those two girls were - are - John's blood and John's family. Regarding the house bought for them, I'd like to see their position sorted out. It represents a part of their life that was very important and very tragic for them and it's as if, with the bricks and mortar, even that past has been denied them."
Cynthia, 1998
"I don't want my life to be governed by a sense of damage. I see the house as an issue but I'm not going to fight over it forever. I mean to carry on teaching and visiting India - I'm addicted to that country. I'm 51 now, and I'm at a turning point. The children have grown up and I'm far more sure of myself than ever I was. Life is a gift I love it and it's up to me to use it as best I can."
Julia Baird, 1998
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