affected him, too.
Children his age knew what it means when a woman is pregnant. John may have
known the implications of the adoption as well. Being a bright and curious
child, the realization that his baby sister was put up for adoption may have
increased his feeling of uncertainty. He felt that if his mother had given her
sister away, she might do the same to him one day.
In
1945, Aunt Mimi enrolled John in the Mosspits Lane Infant School, but John was
dismissed the following spring for severe behavioral problems. As it turned
out, John had bullied a girl at school.
His
father returned to sea again after Victoria’s birth and returned in 1946. When
he returned, he found out that Judy’s father had moved in back in the
apartment. There was also an addition to the residents of the Newcastle Road
apartment, a waiter named Bobby Dykins, Judy’s new boyfriend. Alf threw him out
and told George Stanley to move out the next day.
Judy
moved out, too, taking John with her to live with Dykins in Gateacre. But they
returned to 9 Newcastle Road shortly after.
In
May 1946, Alf received a long-distance call from Aunt Mimi, who informed him
that John had walked two miles to her house because he didn’t like living with
Judy and Dykins. John pleaded for his father to stay. But Alf had to leave for
work and promised he’d be back soon.
When
he came back, he had made a big decision to take John with him. He told Mimi
that he’d take John shopping and to spend a few days at Blackpool, a resort
town thirty miles from Liverpool. Blackpool was the place to go for workers,
sailors and their families with its promenade, rides and games. There was an
amusement park built in the American style. With its carnival rides, games to
play and prizes to win, it was the perfect holiday destination for a
five-year-old boy who’d gotten used to rationing. John must have been thankful
for his father for taking him away from war-torn Liverpool, if only for a
while, to a sunny seaside where he could eat ice cream and candy flosses and
play all day.
Alf
intended to relocate to New Zealand, take his son with him and start a new
life. He had given up reconciling with Judy whom he felt didn’t properly take
care of their son. In his memoir Alf had written, “I set off with John for
Blackpool – intending never to come back.”
Several
accounts of that holiday differed, but it appeared to have lasted for about
three weeks. Judy had tracked down Alf’s friend, Billy Hall’s house where he
was staying with John. Naturally, Alf was surprised to see Judy there. She was
the last person he expected to get in his way.
Alf
and Judy talked, with Alf convincing his carefree wife to get back together
with him as it would be the best thing to do for their son. But Judy said no to
reconciliation. What they did next was cruel to a five-year-old boy who only
rarely experienced having both his father and mother in the same room at the
same time. They thought it was only fair that John had a say in his fate. They
asked him whom he preferred: his mother or his father?
As
Alf and Judy waited for their son to make a decision, they didn’t know the
torture that the child must have gone through. He was supposed to make a big
decision, though either choice was simply abandonment in different terms. If he
chose to live with his father, didn’t it mean betraying his mother? And if he
chose his mother, didn’t it mean turning away from a life he could have in New
Zealand?
John’s
first reaction was to choose Alf. He had just spent an fun and adventurous
three weeks at Blackpool, the longest he had spent with his father. Judy asked
him again, and John repeated his choice. With a heavy heart, Judy said
good-bye. She joined Dykins, who had
Children his age knew what it means when a woman is pregnant. John may have
known the implications of the adoption as well. Being a bright and curious
child, the realization that his baby sister was put up for adoption may have
increased his feeling of uncertainty. He felt that if his mother had given her
sister away, she might do the same to him one day.
In
1945, Aunt Mimi enrolled John in the Mosspits Lane Infant School, but John was
dismissed the following spring for severe behavioral problems. As it turned
out, John had bullied a girl at school.
His
father returned to sea again after Victoria’s birth and returned in 1946. When
he returned, he found out that Judy’s father had moved in back in the
apartment. There was also an addition to the residents of the Newcastle Road
apartment, a waiter named Bobby Dykins, Judy’s new boyfriend. Alf threw him out
and told George Stanley to move out the next day.
Judy
moved out, too, taking John with her to live with Dykins in Gateacre. But they
returned to 9 Newcastle Road shortly after.
In
May 1946, Alf received a long-distance call from Aunt Mimi, who informed him
that John had walked two miles to her house because he didn’t like living with
Judy and Dykins. John pleaded for his father to stay. But Alf had to leave for
work and promised he’d be back soon.
When
he came back, he had made a big decision to take John with him. He told Mimi
that he’d take John shopping and to spend a few days at Blackpool, a resort
town thirty miles from Liverpool. Blackpool was the place to go for workers,
sailors and their families with its promenade, rides and games. There was an
amusement park built in the American style. With its carnival rides, games to
play and prizes to win, it was the perfect holiday destination for a
five-year-old boy who’d gotten used to rationing. John must have been thankful
for his father for taking him away from war-torn Liverpool, if only for a
while, to a sunny seaside where he could eat ice cream and candy flosses and
play all day.
Alf
intended to relocate to New Zealand, take his son with him and start a new
life. He had given up reconciling with Judy whom he felt didn’t properly take
care of their son. In his memoir Alf had written, “I set off with John for
Blackpool – intending never to come back.”
Several
accounts of that holiday differed, but it appeared to have lasted for about
three weeks. Judy had tracked down Alf’s friend, Billy Hall’s house where he
was staying with John. Naturally, Alf was surprised to see Judy there. She was
the last person he expected to get in his way.
Alf
and Judy talked, with Alf convincing his carefree wife to get back together
with him as it would be the best thing to do for their son. But Judy said no to
reconciliation. What they did next was cruel to a five-year-old boy who only
rarely experienced having both his father and mother in the same room at the
same time. They thought it was only fair that John had a say in his fate. They
asked him whom he preferred: his mother or his father?
As
Alf and Judy waited for their son to make a decision, they didn’t know the
torture that the child must have gone through. He was supposed to make a big
decision, though either choice was simply abandonment in different terms. If he
chose to live with his father, didn’t it mean betraying his mother? And if he
chose his mother, didn’t it mean turning away from a life he could have in New
Zealand?
John’s
first reaction was to choose Alf. He had just spent an fun and adventurous
three weeks at Blackpool, the longest he had spent with his father. Judy asked
him again, and John repeated his choice. With a heavy heart, Judy said
good-bye. She joined Dykins, who had
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