Alf Lennon
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Alfred "Freddie" Lennon (14 December 1912–1 April 1976) was the father of English musician John Lennon. He was absent during much of John's childhood, and this is thought to have affected John deeply. Alf is referenced in the song "Mother" with the line "Father, you left me/But I never left you/I needed you/You didn't need me... Daddy Come Home". John's Uncle George provided him with a father figure in his early years.
Alfred was only nine years old when his father Jack died, leaving five sons and a daughter in the care of Alfred's mother, who was unable to support the family. Alf and his sister Edith were sent to the Bluecoat Orphanage in Liverpool. Alf had rickets as a child and wore leg-irons. Consequently, his growth was stunted at 5'4".
In 1927 Alfred auditioned for a children's music hall act, Will Murray's Gang, at the Liverpool Empire Theatre. Having passed the audition Alfred ran away from the orphanage and joined the show. He travelled with the troupe for a time before being discovered in Glasgow and returned to the orphanage, where he was severely punished.
In 1928 Alfred left the orphanage and returned to the family home. Soon afterwards he met Julia Stanley while walking in Sefton Park. The two entered a relationship together. Julia's family did not like Alfred. Julia's sister Mimi was particularly opposed to him. In March 1930, Alfred took a job as bellboy on board the Cunard passenger liner SS Montrose. He kept in touch with Julia, writing to her and meeting her whenever he docked in Liverpool. On 3 December 1938, they married without telling their respective families, with the exception of Alfred's brother Sydney, who acted as a witness and bought everyone lunch in a pub afterwards. Alfred and Julia later moved into Julia's parents' house. He later joined the Merchant Navy, meaning he was at sea for long periods.
It was during one of these spells that Julia gave birth to John Winston Lennon on 9 October 1940. Alfred first saw John that November when he returned. Due to his career, he could not spend much time with his wife and son, and shortly after the birth, he abandoned them by going AWOL. Neither Julia nor the Navy knew of Alf's whereabouts. In fact, Julia only found out because she stopped receiving her allowance money, and the Navy wrote to her to inform her they were looking for Alfred.
When Alf eventually returned, he expected an enthusiastic welcome, but found his wife pregnant by another man and disinterested in continuing a relationship with him. The child was given up for adoption in 1945.
Alfred would still see John occasionally. On one occasion, he returned from sea and took John to Blackpool for the summer. While there he attempted to convince John that they could begin a new life in New Zealand or Australia. Julia, desperately looking for her son, found the pair and John was forced by Alfred to choose between them. A difficult decision for the young John to make, he initially chose his Father, but then relented, chasing after his Mother in the busy street.
In 1949 Alfred's career at sea ended when he was sentenced to six months imprisonment. He had been drinking when, late at night, he spotted a mannequin in a wedding dress in a shop window. He broke the window, gathered the mannequin up in his arms and proceeded to dance in the street.
Alfred made no real attempt to contact his son again until the height of Beatlemania. A newspaper paid Alfred to tell his story and arranged for him to meet John on the set of A Hard Day's Night. John was not pleased to see his father.
In 1965 Alfred made a further attempt to "cash in" on his famous son when he released the autobiographical record That's My Life (My Love and My Home), co-written with Tony Cartwright. The song did poorly and was panned by critics. Ray Coleman in particular, knocks the song in Lennon: The Definitive Biography.
Alfred and John did not speak for many years, but in 1967, Alfred's brother Charlie wrote to John, urging him to hear his father's side of the story. This led to a rekindling of the relationship. However, the relationship was strained. John grew angry with his father while embracing primal scream therapy. The situation was made worse when Alfred, accompanied by his new wife Pauline Jones (a woman thirty five years younger than Alfred, and seven years younger than John), attended a birthday party for John. Alfred presented his newly bearded son with a bottle of aftershave, causing John to lose his temper with his Father.
Alfred had two sons with Pauline, David Henry Lennon and Robin Francis Lennon. John was unsure of his Father's relationship with a woman so young, especially considering the disapproval of Pauline's mother.
By 1976, Alfred had contracted terminal stomach cancer. Pauline contacted John via Apple to make sure he knew his father was dying. John phoned his Father and sent a large bouquet of flowers to the hospital. When Alfred died, John offered to pay for the funeral. Pauline refused, preferring to pay for the arrangements herself.
