362:, read him nursery rhymes at night, and later taught Lennon how to solve crossword puzzles. Smith told Lennon that words did not have to be taken at face value, as they had many different meanings, something Lennon would later use in his writing. He also taught Lennon to draw and paint and bought him his first mouth organ. Mimi admitted that she never had the time to "go playing ducks in the bath with him" (Lennon) but that Smith would put Lennon to bed nearly every night. Mimi later said: "John loved his uncle George. I felt quite left out of that. They'd go off together, just leaving me a bar of chocolate and a note saying: 'Have a happy day.'"
238:
room of the family home in
Newcastle Road when he or his wife were in the front room, and before it grew too late he would burst into the back room and loudly order Smith home. The courtship lasted almost seven years, but Smith grew tired of waiting, so after delivering milk to the hospital one morning he gave her an ultimatum that she must marry him, "or nothing at all!" The youngest sister of the Stanley family,
261:
432:, to send the clock that was previously in the living room at Mendips, which had been passed down through Smith's family, and was inscribed with the words "George Smith, Woolton Tavern", on a metal plate on the back. In Lennon's last published interview, he said: "This image of me being an orphan is garbage, because I was well protected by my auntie and uncle and they looked after me very well, thanks".
386:
341:
222:. George's paternal grandmother's maiden name was Toogood which was given to George as a middle name. His mother died in 1949. Smith operated his family's two dairy farms and a shop with his brother Frank in the village of Woolton. The farms had been in the Smith family for four generations. Smith delivered milk by
237:
at the
Woolton Convalescent Hospital, to which Smith delivered milk every morning. Smith started seriously courting Mimi in the spring of 1932, but was constantly thwarted by her indifference and her father's interference. George Stanley (Mimi's father) would only allow the couple to sit in the back
365:
Though he worked at night and early in the morning on the farm and his milkround, Smith often took Lennon and his cousins to the cinema or the park. When the cousins played outside Smith allowed them to eat meals with their hands in the garden shed. During the school holidays Lennon and his cousins
416:
After Smith's death, Lennon insisted on wearing a large overcoat that had belonged to Smith, and even though it became worn and threadbare, Lennon wore it throughout his art college years. Mimi never used the downstairs sitting room again after Smith's death, using only the breakfast room and the
173:
in the spring of 1932, but was thwarted by her indifference and her father's interference. After delivering milk to the hospital where she worked he gave her an ultimatum that she must marry him, "or nothing at all!" On 15 September 1939, she finally married him. They bought a
328:(under pressure from the local authorities, Mimi, and the Stanley family) was told that she was unable to care for her son. Julia was eventually forced to hand the care of Lennon over to Mimi and George, who had no children of their own. Lennon then lived continuously at
193:
Lennon lived with Smith and his wife for the majority of his childhood, and Smith taught the young Lennon to read, read him nursery rhymes at night, and later taught Lennon how to solve crossword puzzles. He also taught him to draw and paint and bought him his first
397:, Scotland, and was not informed until he returned home. Lennon's first reaction was to laugh hysterically, but then to privately grieve and cry. He would do the same after hearing about the death of his mother three years later, and the death of
51:
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and the area around it: "I lived in the suburbs in a nice semi-detached place with a small garden and doctors and lawyers and that ilk living around... not the poor slummy kind of image that was projected in all The
Beatles' stories".
348:
Smith was very fond of Lennon, and his softer approach to parenting was in stark contrast to his stern wife, who based everything on decorum, honesty and a black-and-white attitude; either you were good enough or you were not.
217:
George
Toogood Smith's parents, Francis and Alice Smith, had eight children in total; Mary, Eleanor, Francis, Robert, Alice, George, Alfred and one other who died. Robert was killed in action on 30 August 1918 in
353:—Lennon's school friend—later commented that "Mimi had a very strong sense of what was right or wrong". In contrast, Smith used to give the young Lennon "squeakers" (kisses) that his wife did not approve of.
229:
When other girls were thinking of marriage, Mimi
Stanley talked of challenges and adventures. She once confided that she never wanted to get married, as she hated the idea of being "
401:(The Beatles' first bass player), which, along with Smith's death, were all major factors in Lennon's early life. In the same year as Smith's death, the McCartney family moved to
302:
business, which led his wife to complain that Smith was a compulsive gambler, and had lost most of their money. During 1942–1943, Mimi's sister Julia lived with Lennon at
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area of
Liverpool. After World War II started the British Government took over the Smith family's farmland for war work, and they had to find other sources of income.
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that fell in their garden. Smith was called up for military service, but was discharged three years later, and subsequently worked in an aircraft
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in the
Woolton area. The raw milk he provided was stored in a large churn and was ladled out into the bottles and receptacles of customers.
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Hohner Super
Chromonica, a typical 12-hole chromatic harmonica, sometimes called a mouth organ, which Smith gave to Lennon
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Smith collapsed and died on a Sunday in 1955 at home of a liver haemorrhage (aged 52) and was buried in the graveyard of
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At the time of Smith's death, the fourteen-year-old Lennon was visiting members of the
Stanley family in Sango Bay,
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Menlove Avenue suffered extensive damage during the war, and Smith and his wife often had to throw a wet blanket on
154:. Smith operated his family's two dairy farms and a retail outlet with his brother, Frank Smith, in the village of
1203:
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821:
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734:"The Beatles Anthology" DVD 2003 (Episode 1 - 0:05:43) Lennon talking about being raised by Smith and Mimi.
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were allowed to accompany Smith on his milk rounds, and every year he allowed Lennon to place a bet on the
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kitchen, and never replaced the furniture, which became old and faded. Lennon continued to live at
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in the smallest bedroom, which was located above the front door. Lennon later talked about
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On 15 September 1939, Mimi finally married Smith. They bought a semi-detached house called
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Lennon lived with Smith and his wife for the majority of his childhood when his mother
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Smith taught the four-year-old Lennon to read by reading aloud the headlines of the
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until the end of the war. Smith later left the milk trade and started a small
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Sango Bay, Durness, which Lennon was visiting at the time of Smith's death
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When Lennon was living in the United States, he asked his half-sister,
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for the first time at St. Peter's Church, where Smith was buried.
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279:(across the road from the Allerton Park golf course) in a
622:"Relationship: Uncle of John Lennon - 1903 - 5 June 1955"
844:"Relationship: Cousin of John Lennon - Born: 1937 Egypt"
198:. Smith collapsed and died on a Sunday at his home of a
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481:"The Beatles Trail - Menlove Avenue to Woolton Village"
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710:"What if they gave a revolution and nobody came?"
425:) until his early 20s, before moving to London.
822:"Chapter One: "He Was The One I'd Waited For""
440:Smith, his wife, and Lennon were portrayed by
1248:
846:. The Liverpool Lennons. 2004. Archived from
624:. The Liverpool Lennons. 2004. Archived from
8:
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593:. The Ramblers Association. Archived from
49:
38:
421:(and also for a time with his first wife
30:For other people named George Smith, see
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246:nine months before, on 3 December 1938.
1038:. The Liverpool Lennons. Archived from
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972:. The Liverpool Lennons. Archived from
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382:, Woolton, in the Smith family grave.
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483:. Liverpool Pictorial. Archived from
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275:(named after the range of hills) at
1074:"Taylor-Wood 'to make Lennon film'"
25:
233:". She became a resident trainee
1390:(born 1950; partnered 1973–1975)
1228:Stanley Parkes talks about Smith
712:. Yardbird Books. Archived from
1432:20th-century American musicians
930:. Instant Karma. Archived from
127:
27:John Lennon's uncle (1903–1955)
1437:20th-century British musicians
1367:(1939–2015; married 1962–1968)
896:The Rough Guide to the Beatles
1:
801:. St. Peter’s Church, Woolton
205:, aged 52, and was buried in
32:George Smith (disambiguation)
1036:: The front room with clock"
763:. Bill Harry/Mersey Beat Ltd
1198:The Beatles – The Biography
207:St Peter's Church graveyard
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761:"Blue Suburban Skies (p4)"
409:. Lennon would later meet
313:
253:
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18:George Smith (John Lennon)
1373:(born 1933; married 1969)
1204:Little, Brown and Company
799:"The Beatles' Connection"
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231:tied to the kitchen sink
708:Kiesling, Bill (2006).
267:, Smith and Mimi's home
169:Smith started courting
141:Francis and Alice Smith
1142:Hodder & Stoughton
893:Ingham, Chris (2003).
390:
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268:
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314:Further information:
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254:Further information:
1302:George Toogood Smith
824:. Barnes & Noble
674:. Woolton Village UK
446:Kristin Scott Thomas
148:George Toogood Smith
43:George Toogood Smith
1417:People from Woolton
1165:Many Years From Now
672:"Visiting Woolton?"
661:, pp. 142–143.
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380:St. Peter's Church
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277:251 Menlove Avenue
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188:251 Menlove Avenue
182:, named after the
1397:
1396:
1213:978-0-316-80352-6
1183:978-0-7493-8658-0
1151:978-0-340-89512-2
1125:978-0-07-011786-0
928:"John Ono Lennon"
906:978-1-84353-140-1
759:Parkes, Stanley.
597:on 5 October 2008
565:, pp. 20–21.
436:Portrayal on film
304:The Dairy Cottage
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16:(Redirected from
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1080:. 29 August 2008
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411:Paul McCartney
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359:Liverpool Echo
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1318:Half-sibling
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1285:Julia Lennon
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1174:Random House
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1160:Miles, Barry
1137:
1109:
1104:Coleman, Ray
1082:. Retrieved
1068:
1056:
1044:. Retrieved
1040:the original
1033:
1026:
1019:Coleman 1987
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978:. Retrieved
974:the original
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936:. Retrieved
932:the original
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910:. Retrieved
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852:. Retrieved
848:the original
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826:. Retrieved
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803:. Retrieved
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765:. Retrieved
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718:. Retrieved
714:the original
688:
676:. Retrieved
666:
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642:
630:. Retrieved
626:the original
599:. Retrieved
595:the original
591:"Mendip Way"
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489:. Retrieved
485:the original
453:
452:in the film
439:
430:Julia Dykins
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192:
179:
171:Mimi Stanley
168:
147:
146:
119:Mimi Stanley
82:(1955-06-05)
36:
1422:1955 deaths
1412:1903 births
1350:(born 1975)
1348:Sean Lennon
1344:(born 1963)
1327:(born 1947)
1325:Julia Baird
1310:(1906–1991)
1304:(1903–1955)
1287:(1914–1958)
1281:(1912–1976)
1264:John Lennon
1116:Mcgraw-Hill
1007:Lennon 2005
995:Lennon 2005
953:Lennon 2005
869:Lennon 2005
693:Lennon 2005
659:Lennon 2005
532:Lennon 2005
455:Nowhere Boy
310:John Lennon
300:bookmaker's
220:World War I
213:Early years
209:, Woolton.
203:haemorrhage
196:mouth organ
152:John Lennon
80:5 June 1955
1406:Categories
1308:Mimi Smith
1192:Spitz, Bob
1061:Spitz 2005
881:Miles 1997
785:Spitz 2005
747:Spitz 2005
647:Spitz 2005
578:Miles 1997
563:Spitz 2005
551:Spitz 2005
517:Spitz 2005
462:References
256:Mimi Smith
160:Liverpool
138:Parent(s)
107:Bookmaker
92:Liverpool
71:, England
69:Liverpool
1388:May Pang
1371:Yoko Ono
1335:Children
1194:(2005).
1162:(1997).
1136:(2005).
1106:(1987).
250:Marriage
1272:Parents
1170:Vintage
1097:Sources
1034:Mendips
968:Mendips
419:Mendips
407:Mendips
395:Durness
334:Mendips
330:Mendips
292:factory
273:Mendips
265:Mendips
180:Mendips
156:Woolton
132:
124:
103:Milkman
88:Woolton
65:Woolton
1266:family
1210:
1180:
1148:
1122:
1110:Lennon
1084:29 May
1046:29 May
980:29 May
938:29 May
912:29 May
903:
854:29 May
828:29 May
805:29 May
767:29 May
720:23 May
678:29 May
632:29 May
601:29 May
491:29 May
448:, and
113:Spouse
1358:Wives
374:Death
326:Julia
296:Speke
235:nurse
200:liver
186:, at
126:(
122:
1208:ISBN
1178:ISBN
1146:ISBN
1138:John
1120:ISBN
1086:2011
1048:2011
982:2011
940:2011
914:2011
901:ISBN
856:2011
830:2011
807:2011
769:2011
722:2008
680:2011
634:2011
603:2011
493:2011
318:and
77:Died
58:Born
294:in
1408::
1206:.
1202:.
1176:.
1168:.
1144:.
1140:.
1118:.
1114:.
1076:.
777:^
739:^
700:^
611:^
570:^
539:^
524:^
501:^
470:^
444:,
370:.
158:,
128:m.
105:,
90:,
67:,
1256:e
1249:t
1242:v
1216:.
1186:.
1172:-
1154:.
1128:.
1088:.
1050:.
984:.
942:.
916:.
858:.
832:.
809:.
771:.
724:.
682:.
636:.
605:.
495:.
34:.
20:)
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