Julia Baird - Early Years

Early Years

Baird's mother, Julia Lennon, was the fourth of five children in the Stanley family: Mary, known as 'Mimi' (1906–1991), Elizabeth 'Mater' (1908–1976), Anne 'Nanny' (1911–1988), Julia 'Judy' (1914–1958), and Harriet 'Harrie' (1916–1972).

Lennon was Julia's first child by Alfred Lennon, although she later had a daughter called Victoria (renamed Ingrid) after an affair with a Welsh soldier while Alfred was at sea. Julia was forced to give up the child for adoption after intense pressure from her father and her sisters. Although they had known each other previously, Julia started dating Dykins while working in a café near Mosspits, which was Lennon's primary school. Dykins was said to be a good-looking, well-dressed man who was several years older than Julia and worked at the Adelphi Hotel in Liverpool as a wine steward. Julia later moved into a small flat in Gateacre with Dykins, who had access to rationed goods like alcohol, chocolate, silks and cigarettes. The Stanley sisters called Dykins a "spiv", because of his pencil-thin moustache, margarine-coated hair, and pork-pie hat, but the young Lennon called him "Twitchy" because of a physical tic and nervous cough Dykins had. Although Julia never divorced Alfred Lennon, she was the common-law wife of Dykins, although Paul McCartney admitted to being sarcastic to Lennon about his mother living in sin while Julia was still married. Julia's sister, Mimi, called Julia and Dykins' home—at 1 Blomfield Road, Liverpool—"The House of Sin" and her own house (where Lennon lived) "The House of Correction". When Jackie was born prematurely on 26 October 1949, Julia went back to the hospital every day to see her, although she was often not allowed (by Mimi) to visit Lennon.

Dykins later managed several bars in Liverpool, which allowed Julia to stay at home at Blomfield Road, to look after Baird, Jackie, a cat named "Elvis", and the 11-year-old Lennon, who had started to visit and occasionally stayed overnight. Baird would give up her bed to Lennon, and share Jackie's double bed. Dykins used to give Lennon weekly pocket money (one shilling) for doing odd jobs, such as collecting golf balls on the local course, on top of the five shillings that Lennon's Aunt Mimi gave him. During Lennon's visits, he would climb trees with Baird and Jackie, test Baird's spelling, and once gave Baird half-a-crown to leave him alone when he wanted to kiss his first girlfriend. Baird remembered that after Lennon had visited them, her mother would often play a record called, My Son John, To Me You Are So Wonderful, "by some old crooner, and sit and listen to it". "My Son John"—sung by David Whitfield—was released in 1956. Although Mimi sent Lennon to his Aunt's croft in Sango Bay, Durness, Scotland, for his holidays, he later persuaded Mimi to let him take short holidays in North Wales with the Dykins family. Julia took Baird and Jackie to Rosebury Street, Liverpool, to watch Lennon play with The Quarrymen on the back of a flatbed coal truck on 22 June 1957. Baird was allowed to sit on the back, but as the music was too loud she asked to be taken off. The Quarrymen played twice that day as part of a celebration to mark the 750th anniversary of the granting of Liverpool’s charter by King John. Lennon and McCartney would later rehearse in the bathroom of Blomfield Road because they said the acoustics "sounded like a recording studio".