Julia Lennon
| Julia Lennon | |
|---|---|
Lennon in 1949
|
|
| Born |
Julia Stanley 12 March 1914 Liverpool, England |
| Died | 15 July 1958 (aged 44) Liverpool, England |
| Cause of death | Traffic accident |
| Occupation | Waitress, housewife |
| Spouse(s) | Alfred Lennon (m. 1938; her death 1958) |
| Partner(s) | John "Bobby" Dykins (1945-58) |
| Children | 4, including John Lennon and Julia Baird |
| Parent(s) | George Stanley Annie Stanley (née Millward) |
| Relatives |
Mimi Smith (sister) George Toogood Smith (brother-in-law) |
Julia Lennon (née Stanley; 12 March 1914 – 15 July 1958) was the mother of English musician John Lennon, who was born during her marriage to Alfred Lennon. After complaints to Liverpool's Social Services by her eldest sister, Mimi Smith (née Stanley), she handed over the care of her son to her sister. She later had one daughter after an affair with a Welsh soldier, but the baby was given up for adoption after pressure from her family. She then had two daughters, Julia and Jackie, with John 'Bobby' Dykins. She never divorced her husband, preferring to live as the common-law wife of Dykins for the rest of her life.
She was known as being high-spirited and impulsive, musical, and having a strong sense of humour. She taught her son how to play the banjo and ukulele. She kept in almost daily contact with John, and when he was in his teens he often stayed overnight at her and Dykins' house. On 15 July 1958, she was struck down and killed by a car driven by an off-duty policeman, close to her sister's house at 251 Menlove Avenue. Lennon was traumatised by her death and wrote several songs about her, including "Julia" and "Mother". Biographer Ian MacDonald wrote that she was, "to a great extent ... her son's muse".
Julia Stanley, later known by the family as Judy, was born at 8 Head Street, Toxteth, South Liverpool in 1914, and was the fourth of five sisters. Her mother, Annie Jane (née Millward), gave birth to a boy and then a girl, both of whom died shortly after birth. She then had Mary, known as 'Mimi' (1906–91), Elizabeth 'Mater' (1908–76), Anne 'Nanny' (1911–88), Julia 'Judy' (1914–58), and Harriet 'Harrie' (1916–72). John Lennon would later comment that the 'Stanley girls' were "five, fantastic, strong, beautiful, and intelligent women". Their father, George Ernest Stanley, retired from the Merchant Navy and found a job with the Liverpool & Glasgow Salvage Association as an insurance investigator. He moved his family to the suburb of Woolton, where they lived in a small terraced house at 9 Newcastle Road near to Penny Lane. Her mother died in 1945, and Julia had to take care of her father with help from her oldest sister.
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