137
Gateacre Park Drive
Woolton,
Liverpool,
L25
John
Lennon's mother, Julia, was the fourth of five surviving children in the
Stanley family. The eldest, Mary, was known to all as "Mimi"
(1906-1991), and her sisters followed at regular intervals: Elizabeth
"Mater" (1908-1976), Anne "Nanny" (1911-1988), Julia
"Judy" (1914-1958) and the youngest, Harriet "Harrie"
(1916-1972).
Separated
from her husband, Alfred "Freddie" Lennon, Julia met John
"Bobby" Dykins in 1946 and began living with him as his common-law
wife (Freddie was never around to
request a divorce). Julia and Dykins then had two children, Julia (born 5 March
1947) and her younger sister Jacqueline "Jackie" (born 26 October
1949).
Harriet
Birch with her son David, and nephew John Lennon (right)
In 1958
following Julia Lennon's tragic death in a road accident, sister Harriet and
her husband Norman Birch were appointed legal guardians of the two girls (17
year old John Lennon had been in the care of his Aunt Mimi since the age of 5).
Julia and Jackie Dykins duly moved in with their Aunt and Uncle at the 2
bedroom Dairy Cottage on Allerton Road in Woolton, a home they rented from
Mimi.
The
fact that John Dykins was the girls' biological father was ignored - he had
never legally married their mother.
Shockingly,
in December 1965 Dykins also died in a road accident on Ullet Road, not far from Penny Lane. On
learning of his death John Lennon decided to do something practical to help his
two half-sisters. Aware that Harrie, Norman, their son David and the two girls
were living in the cramped Dairy Cottage he provided his Aunt with a budget for
a house where they would all have more room.
They
chose a brand new three bedroom house on Gateacre Park Drive in Woolton, just
over the hill from the centre of the village. John told Harrie to furnish and
decorate the house, and send all the bills to him.
John
purchased the house in 1967 while it was still at the foundation stage. When it
was finally completed towards the end of the year Harrie and Norman Birch moved
into their spacious new home. Ironically, having spent years in the crowded two
bed-room cottage, both Julia and Jackie Dykins had already moved out as had
their own son David.
Julia
Baird (née Dykins) describes her first visit to the house John had intended for
her and Jackie: (I) was greeted by Harrie at the front door. There was a
frosted glass porch, with lots of plants and wood-block floors downstairs.
There was a large, L-shaped living room, overlooking the garden, which was
still full of rubble from the building work, and a fitted kitchen. The deep
plum red carpet from “Mendips” was on the stairs. We walked around the
downstairs and then we went up to see the three bedrooms.
John's
first visit
At the
end of June 1969, just as the Beatles were about to commence sessions for what
would become their "Abbey Road" album John decided to take Yoko and
her daughter Kyoko on a tour of the Scottish Highlands where he had spent many
family holidays as a boy, staying at the home of his Aunt Mater and her husband
Bert in Durness, Sutherland.
John
had passed his driving test in February 1965, and whilst he remained a
notoriously poor driver he decided that he would drive them all the way to
Scotland himself in his Mini cooper. Come the day of departure John's son
Julian was visiting him and he too was brought on the trip, reportedly without
first agreeing it with Cynthia.
In 1969
Britain was yet to be criss-crossed by motorways and the trip up north was a
long and arduous one. Nonetheless, John successfully managed the drive for the
first part of the journey. After spending the night of 23 June in the Corbett
Arms Hotel in Tywyn, a seaside resort on Cardigan Bay, Wales, John planned to
stop for a few days in Liverpool, introduce his new wife to his family and show
her where he had grown up. It was on this first leg of the journey that he
decided the Mini was too small for the four of them to travel such a distance
and he phoned his assistant Les Anthony to request a larger car. Anthony duly
drove up to Liverpool with an Austin Maxi and returned south with John's Mini.
Kyoko,
Yoko, Julian and John at the Corbett Arms, Tywyn, Wales on 23 June 1969
A few
days later when John was in Liverpool he telephoned his half-sister Julia from
Harrie’s house and asked her if she could come over (from Ireland) to see them
as they were going to be there for a day or two. Julia was just about to leave
on her second honeymoon and declined the offer. She writes that had she known
that she would not speak to him for another four years she would have jumped
straight on the ferry and gone to Woolton to see him.
Both of
John's Aunts did see him. Philip Norman's book "John Lennon - The
Life" states that while they were up on Merseyside John and family visited
his Aunt Nanny and her husband Charles Cadwaller at 'Ardmore' their house in Rock Ferry, Wirral.
This was likely the 25 June, and they may have stayed there overnight before moving
across the Mersey to Harriet's the following day.
As neither
Aunt had seen John since his divorce from Cynthia, his "Two Virgins"
album sleeve, his November 1968 drug-bust, the marriage to Yoko and their
subsequent Bed-Ins for Peace, they only knew of these events from what they had
read in the newspapers.
Now they had the opportunity to observe their crazy
nephew and his peculiar new wife first hand. In June 1969 John and Yoko,
perhaps Yoko more so, were heavily into macrobiotic food*. Present in Rock Ferry was Nanny's son Mike
who recalls Yoko commandeering the kitchen to prepare their meals, probably
within earshot of a concerned Aunt unable to disguise her disapproval "he
can't just eat beans... he needs a proper meal...he's fading away...he's all skin
and bones".
Reportedly, when Mike's girlfriend produced a bag of jelly
babies (of all things) John scoffed quite a few before Yoko voiced her
disapproval.
It was
a similar story when they arrived in Woolton. When Harrie offered them a roast
dinner Yoko reportedly declined and said that she would prepare their
macrobiotic food. John, eager not to offend his Auntie (or perhaps he was just
starving), ate the roast as well.
John,
Yoko and kids with Harriet, Sophie the dog, and the Austin Maxi on Harriet's
driveway. These three photographs have been dated 26 June 1969 which is
probably the day the Lennons arrived in Woolton. However, I have a feeling
these were taken on the day of departure - Do you think John is getting the
suitcases in, or out, of the boot? (trunk?)
Gateacre
Park Drive in June 1969 (above) and November 2015 (below). The trees have
matured and there are more cars but not much else has changed here over the
last 46 years.
While
the Lennons were in Woolton they called in at Holmbrook Special School, and
Julia's former house - Number 1 Blomfield Road – where the then residents
welcomed them in – before John continued the journey up to Scotland on 29 June.
"Porrage"
: They sent Harrie and Norman a postcard when they arrived at Mater's.
On
Tuesday 1 July 1969, John's luck ran out whilst driving near Golspie in the
Scottish Highlands. It was said that the roads were narrow and the weather was
poor and John panicked when he saw another car heading towards him. He swerved to avoid it, lost control of the
Maxi and crashed it into a roadside ditch.
John, Kyoko and Yoko suffered facial
injuries and Yoko also injured her back. The three were hospitalised in
Golspie's Memorial hospital remaining there for 5 days. Julian was treated for
shock but was thankfully uninjured. He was taken to stay at Mater's house in
Durness, some 50 miles away and remained there until a furious Cynthia arrived
to take him back to London.
The crashed
Austin Maxi was later transported to the couple's Tittenhurst Park estate where
it was sited in the gardens (photo circa November 1969)
The
trip marked one of John's final visits to Liverpool. John Lennon and Yoko Ono
left England for New York on August 31, 1971.
Harrie,
the youngest of the Stanley sisters, would pass away in late 1972. She was only
56.
The
house on Gateacre Park Drive would cause some problems in later years. Norman
continued to live there after Harriet’s death. This was not John’s intention
but not knowing what to do about it he suggested that Julia (Baird) ask Norman
to leave. According to Julia, it was her understanding that Norman could
continue to live there until his death at which point ownership of the house,
or money from the sale of, would transfer to Julia and Jackie Dykins. She had
no intention of evicting Norman and besides, with a family of her own, plus
Jackie’s family the three bedroomed house was not big enough for them all.
John
had written to another of his Aunts, Mater, in July 1975: “As for Norman...I
always thought of the house he’s in as my contribution towards looking after
Julia and Jackie. So I find it strange to hear that they were seldom in the
place....and that Norman is living there alone... I would prefer the girls to
use it"
That's
not to say that John forgot about Norman:
Perhaps
through necessity rather than choice Julia did use it. After the birth of her
son David in April 1979 Julia and her family moved in with Norman that summer
and stayed for almost a year. Before the birth of her son the plan had been to
put their own house on the market and buy a larger one but the sale went
through so quickly they didn't have another house lined up and faced having
nowhere to live. Until they could find a house of their own they would stay
with Norman, eventually moving out around April 1980.
John
Lennon was murdered on 8 December 1980.
Towards
the end of January 1986 Norman Birch received a letter from a New York law firm
acting on behalf of Yoko. The letter offered Norman the chance to buy the house
he was living in, 137 Gateacre Park Drive, for a “mutually agreed price and at
mutually agreeable terms” before it was put on the open market. In other words,
if he couldn’t or didn’t want to buy it, he would lose his home. With only his
pension, the letter had the same effect as an eviction notice.
The
house had been bought by John through Apple, and after his death, ownership
transferred to Yoko. John it transpired, had not secured the house for his
sisters, nor had he let Yoko know of his intentions for them. When Julia Baird
learned of this she telephoned David, Norman’s son to warn him his Dad risked
being evicted. In turn, David rang Yoko,
pointing out that this was Norman’s home, and had been for 15 years.
Norman
did not receive any more threatening letters.
In
October 1991, in what must have seemed like history repeating itself, Norman
was knocked over by a car almost outside his house and later died in Broadgreen
Hospital.
Yoko’s
lawyers moved fast. Within weeks they had asked David to clear his father's
house. He emptied it in a weekend.
137
Gateacre Park Drive had become a symbol of John's love and care for Jackie and
Julia and yet it was taken from them.
The
house was handed over to the Salvation Army from the estate of John Lennon on 2
November 1993. At the time of Julia Baird’s book Imagine This, a retired
Salvation Army officer was living rent-free in the house. With the knowledge
that the house had been intended for her and Jackie, Julia decided to contact
Yoko to try and establish why she had given the house away. The call did not go
well. Yoko asked Julia to provide evidence to support her contention that John
had bought the house for his sisters. Unable to do so, and with frayed tempers,
they agreed to speak again the following week when they had had the opportunity
to calm down.
Julia
subsequently received a telephone call from her cousin Michael. He’d had a call
from New York to let Julia know that the return call was off and she was never
to darken Yoko’s door again.
In 1998
Julia decided to approach Yoko again, having gathered testimonies from other
members of the family to support her claim that John had bought the house in
recognition of her and Jackie being his mother's other children. With help from Cynthia Lennon, and her cousin
Stan, who provided her with a copy of John's July 1975 letter to Mater, Julia
again wrote to Yoko. Receiving no response she wrote again. And then a third
time, which finally prompted a response, from Yoko's lawyer. He explained that
upon John's death the house had become Yoko's for her to do with as she saw
fit, which she had done. It was clear that the house was not going to be given
to the girls, though Yoko did offer them money if they needed some. That was
not the issue: it was never about money.
As
Julia writes in Imagine This "That was the end of the matter. Having done
all I could, I felt it really was time to let it go. Knowing that the house had
been intended for us, and that John had wanted to look after us - and having at
last been able to demonstrate it was what mattered most".
Sources:
 |
| Read this book! |
http://www.britishbeatlesfanclub.co.uk/2011/09/imagine-this-growing-up-with-my-brother.html
* A
macrobiotic diet (or macrobiotics), is a dietary regimen which involves eating
grains as a staple food, supplemented with other foods such as local
vegetables, and avoiding the use of highly processed or refined foods and most
animal products. In 1969 this was probably considered really weird but today
the benefits of such a diet are more readily accepted.
Corbett
Arms Hotel:
http://www.britishlistedbuildings.co.uk/wa-4643-corbett-arms-hotel-tywyn#.VkKIn9LhCUk
Whether
pre-arranged or on the spur of the moment, John, Yoko, Kyoko and Julian visited
Holmrook Special School at the foot of Beaconsfield Road, situated almost
directly opposite the famous red gates of Strawberry Field, a place so familiar
to John from his childhood.
