Ringo Starr lived at 10 Admiral Grove from the age of five until the Beatles made it big and his family moved out of the Dingle. Margaret Grose was neighbor and knew his family. While she didn't really know Ringo personally, she did remember him as a teenager living at 10 Admiral Grove.
 |
| 10 Admiral Grove in 1964 when Ringo's family still lived there. |
 |
| Admiral Grove circa 1964 |
 |
| Harry and Elsie Graves inside of 10 Admiral Grove in 1964 |
 |
| Ringo's mum, Elsie inside of 10 Admiral Grove in 1964 |
 |
| Ringo visiting his folks at home |
After the Graves' moved out of the Dingle, Margaret moved into the home. She made some adjustments to the house over the years, but kept the front room basically the same as it was when Ringo lived there.
She became known around the world as a loving, caring woman who would open her house up to Beatle fans. She must have had 1000's of visitors over the years. Some of them she would become pen pals with and really became friends with them. She would talk to the fans about Ringo, but would admit that she really didn't like the Beatles' music as much as she loved Elvis. Ringo's children made a special trip to their Dad's former home and Margaret was happy to welcome them into the house and asked them to do what she asked of everyone: to sign the guest book.
She never asked or expected money from the fans. However, after Linda McCartney died of breast cancer, Margaret started to take donations of loose change from fans that visited her home to go toward the Linda McCartney Centre that was at the Liverpool Hospital. She was able to raise quite a bit of money for this wonderful charity.
I met Margaret when my mom and I traveled to Liverpool in July of 2013. Margaret welcomed us into her home and we celebrated Ringo's birthday with her with cupcakes and coke. She was so sweet to open her house to us to celebrate Ringo's special day. It really was one of the highlights of my trip to Liverpool and it is something that I will always remember.
 | |
| Jackie and Margaret enjoy cupcakes for Ringo's birthday inside 10 | Admiral Grove |
 |
| My mom standing inside 10 Admiral Grove, near the fireplace where Ringo often sat |
My deepest sympathies go out to Margret's family, friends and neighbors. She was called the "Beatles Ambassador" and that name fit her well. She truly showed peace and love to everyone from around the world that came to her door---and if that isn't spreading the Beatles spirit, then what is?
Jackie Spencer, the tour guide of Liverpool who became good friends with Margaret has set up a memorial for the Linda McCartney Centre at the Liverpool Hospital (the charity that was near and dear to her) in Margret's name. Beatle fans from around the world are asked to give to this memorial instead of sending flowers or cards to her family. If you would like to donate, here is the link:
https://www.justgiving.com/MargaretGrose
 | |
| Margaret saying goodbye to us as we left 10 Admiral Grove. |
You can spot march and april on the (Beatles Book) callander on te wall
ReplyDeleteflabbyroad
Ringo's mother's name was ELSIE GRAVES (since her April 17, 1953 second marriage to Harry Graves), not Elise, not Starkey.
ReplyDeleteSorry----I spelled her name the way a friend spelled it in high school. My error However, I do have that it is the Graves in the caption. I kept it as "Starkey" on the tags because I figured that most of the people looking would search for her under "Starkey" and not "Graves."
DeleteHi Sara, The Starkey - Graves confusion was definitely caused by the press in the 60's ( I felt sorry for Harry Graves being labeled "Mr. Starkey" in so many of Ringo and Maureen's wedding photos in 1965, etc.), but this sudden misspelling of Elsie's name as "Elise" has only shown up recently online. I don't know how it got started?
ReplyDeleteComparing the recent photo with the earlier one from 1964 it seems the door and the front window appears to have been switched?
ReplyDeleteWhat a charming post.
ReplyDeleteI've read your blog for years and just love it. Thank you for your hard work, consistency, and positivity!
--J.
God bless, Margaret.
ReplyDelete