Jim and Mary Mc Cartney - Marriage

Marriage

Mary met her future husband during an air raid on Liverpool in 1940, when Jim was 38 years old, and had settled into what his friends thought was, "a confirmed bachelorhood." Mary had been too career-conscious to think of marriage and, at 31-years-old, was thought of as a spinster. They met in June 1940, at 11 Scargreen Avenue, West Derby, the McCartney family home. Mary was staying with Jim's sister, Jin, because of the lack of accommodation in Liverpool at the time. As Mary sat quietly in an armchair, the air-raid sirens sounded at 9:30. At that time, the group moved to the Anderson shelter in the back garden to wait for the all-clear, but as there was an intensive bombing raid, the signal did not come and everyone was thus forced to sit in the cellar until dawn. Mary talked long enough with Jim to become romantically interested in him, and thought that he was "utterly charming and uncomplicated," as well as being entertained by his "considerable good humour." They took out a marriage licence at Liverpool Town Hall on 8 April 1941, and were married a week later at St. Swithin's Roman Catholic chapel in Gillmoss, West Derby, on 15 April 1941. They first lived at 10 Sunbury Road, Liverpool, and then resided for a short time at 92 Broadway, Wallasey, during November 1942. Jim's job at Napiers was classified as war work, so the McCartneys were given a small, but temporary, prefab house at 3 Roach Avenue, Knowsley.

Mary's job enabled the McCartneys to move to a ground-floor flat at 75 Sir Thomas White Gardens, off St. Domingo Road in Everton, to live in a rent-free flat that was supplied by her employers. They moved shortly after, in February 1946, to 72 Western Avenue in Speke. In 1948, the family moved again to 12 Ardwick Road (also in Speke) which was part of a new estate in the suburbs of Liverpool. The frequent moves to better areas were Mary's idea, as she wanted to raise her children in the best neighbourhood possible.

In 1955, the McCartney family moved for the last time to a small three-bedroomed brick-built terrace house at 20 Forthlin Road in Allerton, which is now owned by The National Trust. It only cost £1/6s per week, which was due to Mary's seniority at the hospital. Before moving to Forthlin Road, Jim had been secretary of the Speke Horticultural Society, and had often sent his sons out to canvass for new members. Jim planted dahlias and snapdragons in the front garden of Forthlin Road and regularly trimmed the lavender hedge, although it was Paul's job to collect horse manure from the local streets in a bucket to be dug into the flowerbeds. As both Jim and Mary were heavy smokers, Jim would first dry and then crush sprigs of Lavender and then burn them (like incense) in the ashtrays to kill the smell of cigarette smoke.

Money was a problem in the McCartney house, as Jim only earned up to £6.00 a week, which was less than his wife. Because of their financial situation, the McCartney family could not afford to buy a television set until the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II in 1953, and never owned a car. His two sons were the first in the McCartney family line to buy cars. When The Beatles became successful, Jim had to leave Forthlin Road because fans used to stand outside and stare through the windows, which made him feel uncomfortable and nervous. Eight years after Mary's death, Jim married Angela Williams, on 24 November 1964. Williams had a daughter from a previous marriage, Ruth, whom Jim legally adopted.