accompanied her at Blackpool, at the gate
and started walking up the street. With the decision of John still ringing in
her ears, Judy was perhaps unsurprisingly content to walk away with her man and
leave her child completely, with the possibility of not seeing him again.
But
John, horrified at seeing his mother walk away, ran after her. He couldn’t bear
to see his mother walk away forever from his life. Alf didn’t stop him. He knew
it was John’s final decision, to be with his mother. John had chosen to be with
Judy. Alf continued on with his plans to go to New Zealand with his friend to
travel as he had done before. Himself having been abandoned by his own mother
when he was young, he had no qualms about walking away from his child and leave
him with other people. He had given John a chance to be with him, but John’s
decision was unequivocal. It would be 18 years later before Alf made an attempt
to contact his son on the set of A Hard Day’s Night .
With
Auntie Mimi
Little
John was back in Liverpool. It was not clear whether Auntie Mimi had sent Judy
to go to Blackpool and retrieve John, but what was clear was that Mimi still
felt that John belonged to her. She didn’t approve of Judy moving in with
another man while she was still married to Alf and raising her son.
Now
the issue was centered on John. How would Judy look after him? Mimi stepped in
and decided to claim John even if she had to wrench him away from his
irresponsible mother. He needed to be in a stable home, one with a father and
mother figure to be there for him.
What
Mimi did next was to go to Liverpool Social Services and tell them that Judy
was an unfit mother to John. When the Social Services visited John’s home, they
noticed that the boy lacked a bed to sleep in and insisted that Judy find an
alternative situation or they would take John away. For John’s own good, Judy
handed him to Mimi, where John would stay for the best part of his pre-Beatles
life.
Feelings
of abandonment would haunt John throughout his life. When reflecting on his
childhood, he said, “The worst pain is that of not being wanted, of realizing
your parents do not need you in the way you need them. I was never really
wanted. The only reason I am a star is because of my repression. Nothing would
have driven me through all that if I was ‘normal.’”
John with his Auntie Mimi Smith, a strict
woman who didn’t think highly of John’s interest in music
His
domestic situation further confused John. He didn’t know where he belonged. At
five years old, he couldn’t quite figure out why his father and mother couldn’t
be together with him. Why did they hand him off to Auntie Mimi? His life had
always been rootless. Having been taken from one home to another, handed to his
aunt or to one of his uncles, John was relocated more than a dozen times before
he was five. Aside from Mimi, John’s uncle Sydney and Billy Hall’s parents
offered to adopt him. But in many ways, John was unclaimed.
John
began living in the Smith household in Mendips the autumn of 1946. Auntie Mimi
and Uncle George were childless. Mimi was a stern and old-fashioned woman who
delivered on her promise to Judy. For the next 15 years, she would look after
John the way a mother should. They allowed Judy and Bobby Dykins access to John,
though John would only see his mother a few times over the next few years. The
Smiths never formally adopted John.
Bad
Boy
At
school, John developed an unruly nature though he was well-fed and loved. He
had a privileged life compared to other children. He recalled, “Auntie Mimi
lived in the suburbs in a nice semi-detached place with a small garden, doctors
and lawyers and that ilk living around, not the poor, slummy image that was
projected. I was a nice clean-cut suburban boy and in the class system that was
about a half a
and started walking up the street. With the decision of John still ringing in
her ears, Judy was perhaps unsurprisingly content to walk away with her man and
leave her child completely, with the possibility of not seeing him again.
But
John, horrified at seeing his mother walk away, ran after her. He couldn’t bear
to see his mother walk away forever from his life. Alf didn’t stop him. He knew
it was John’s final decision, to be with his mother. John had chosen to be with
Judy. Alf continued on with his plans to go to New Zealand with his friend to
travel as he had done before. Himself having been abandoned by his own mother
when he was young, he had no qualms about walking away from his child and leave
him with other people. He had given John a chance to be with him, but John’s
decision was unequivocal. It would be 18 years later before Alf made an attempt
to contact his son on the set of A Hard Day’s Night .
With
Auntie Mimi
Little
John was back in Liverpool. It was not clear whether Auntie Mimi had sent Judy
to go to Blackpool and retrieve John, but what was clear was that Mimi still
felt that John belonged to her. She didn’t approve of Judy moving in with
another man while she was still married to Alf and raising her son.
Now
the issue was centered on John. How would Judy look after him? Mimi stepped in
and decided to claim John even if she had to wrench him away from his
irresponsible mother. He needed to be in a stable home, one with a father and
mother figure to be there for him.
What
Mimi did next was to go to Liverpool Social Services and tell them that Judy
was an unfit mother to John. When the Social Services visited John’s home, they
noticed that the boy lacked a bed to sleep in and insisted that Judy find an
alternative situation or they would take John away. For John’s own good, Judy
handed him to Mimi, where John would stay for the best part of his pre-Beatles
life.
Feelings
of abandonment would haunt John throughout his life. When reflecting on his
childhood, he said, “The worst pain is that of not being wanted, of realizing
your parents do not need you in the way you need them. I was never really
wanted. The only reason I am a star is because of my repression. Nothing would
have driven me through all that if I was ‘normal.’”
John with his Auntie Mimi Smith, a strict
woman who didn’t think highly of John’s interest in music
His
domestic situation further confused John. He didn’t know where he belonged. At
five years old, he couldn’t quite figure out why his father and mother couldn’t
be together with him. Why did they hand him off to Auntie Mimi? His life had
always been rootless. Having been taken from one home to another, handed to his
aunt or to one of his uncles, John was relocated more than a dozen times before
he was five. Aside from Mimi, John’s uncle Sydney and Billy Hall’s parents
offered to adopt him. But in many ways, John was unclaimed.
John
began living in the Smith household in Mendips the autumn of 1946. Auntie Mimi
and Uncle George were childless. Mimi was a stern and old-fashioned woman who
delivered on her promise to Judy. For the next 15 years, she would look after
John the way a mother should. They allowed Judy and Bobby Dykins access to John,
though John would only see his mother a few times over the next few years. The
Smiths never formally adopted John.
Bad
Boy
At
school, John developed an unruly nature though he was well-fed and loved. He
had a privileged life compared to other children. He recalled, “Auntie Mimi
lived in the suburbs in a nice semi-detached place with a small garden, doctors
and lawyers and that ilk living around, not the poor, slummy image that was
projected. I was a nice clean-cut suburban boy and in the class system that was
about a half a
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