Paul's Wonderful Liverpool Christmas

Photos taken by Linda (Eastman) McCartney 

 December 25, 1968 - Liverpool 

Family time

 

I love seeing Ringo play with his Granddaughter.  

Who is Aunt Milly and why should she come back

This photo taken by Mike McCartney shows Uncle Albert and Aunt Milly taking a rest at the McCartney home on Forthlin Ave in Liverpool.

Every time I watch the film of "All you need is love" I see a sign that says "Come Back Milly" and I wonder to myself.   "Who exactly is Milly?   Why does someone want her to come back?"     

The Milly in question is Jim McCartney's sister.    She was married to man named Albert Kendall, (Uncle Albert).        She must have been a special woman in Paul's life.    When Paul's mother, Mary passed away, it was Paul's aunties that really stepped up and helped out Jim take care of the household needs and the two young boys.      Paul honored her memory by giving the middle name of "Milly" to his youngest child, Beatrice.    (And here I thought it had something to do with her mother's last name!).        Aunt Millie was the only family member that was concerned when Paul was to marry Linda.    She wasn't sure about her nephew marrying an American woman.     Although maybe others in the family had concerns and only dear Auntie Milly had the guts to speak up and say something.      

In the spring of 1967, Milly traveled to Adelaide, Australia to visit her son, Jim.    There was some real worry in the family that Milly might decide to live in Australia and never return to England.  The McCartney's wanted to get a message to her to let her know that she is loved and missed at home and they want her to come back!

Her nephew, Paul was going to be on the first ever world-wide satellite broadcast with his band, The Beatles, performing their new song, "All you need is love."    This would be the perfect way to get the message across to Milly.    And so Paul painted a very simple sign that read "Come Back Milly!"

 photo by David Magnus

The sign was displayed during the broadcast and 400 million people around the globe saw it while they watched the Beatles perform. 

One of those 400 million people was, you guessed it Milly Kendall.   Angie McCartney wrote in her book, My Long and Winding Road,   "Milly told us she had not long arrived and was tired and exhausted from her journey.   But they had the telly on in the next room and she was half watching the screen when suddenly this placard came up.  She was flabbergasted , as at this stage we were not as tech saturated as we are now.   It was a real link between our two hemispheres."

No one knows if Milly really was going to stay in Australia indefinitely, but after a short time she came right back to England.    I guess you can say that the sign worked.    

100 years old!

Freda Kelley and her grandson regularly Ringo's Aunt Evie.  However, this weekend it was a special visit because Aunt Evie turned 100 years old!    Best wishes to Aunt Evie!  

Keep it in the family

Aunt Mimi with family members she met up with in New Zealand in 1964

Ringo's mystery cousins

John wasn't the only Beatle meeting family members from New Zealand, Ringo also had some distant cousins who came up to the hotel room to greet their long, lost family member.    Christine (age 16), Patricia (age 13) and Theresa (age 12) Starkey had left Liverpool and emigrated to New Zealand in 1963.   Since Ringo's father, Richard Starkey, left when Ringo was a small child, he really did not have any connection to the Starkey family.   

Christine Starkey was quoted as saying, "It was just too much, I never dreamed it would actually happen!"  Ringo gave the girls his autograph and said, "It was nice meeting them, but I'm not quite sure where in the family they fit in."

Unlike John's cousins, who were known to John at least by name before the trip, these cousins of Ringo's were unknown.    Most likely these girls were some distant branch in the Starkey family tree, who were Beatle fans that took advantage of their fortunate surname.  Not that anyone could blame them.  

Family reunion

John's Aunt Mimi traveled with the boys to Australia, not to enjoy the music of the boy she raised and his friends, but to meet up with family members that lived in Eketahuna, New Zealand.   Mimi was with the Beatles at the beginning of the tour, but left for NZ a week earlier and spent time with her cousin Jim  Mathews, whom she had been corresponding with through letters for many, many years. 

On June 23, 1964 Mimi came along with Jim Mathew's daughter Lynda and three other cousins to the St. George hotel to visit with her nephew and his friends.   Mimi was also there to tell him that she was going to stay in New Zealand longer than originally planned and that she would find her own way home to Liverpool.    While this has never been confirmed in any way, I can't help but wonder f the fact that Mimi's boyfriend, who was a former boarder at Mendips, was also living in New Zealand at this time.  Mimi ended up staying in New Zealand for 3-4 more months.

Mimi and the family she stayed with in New Zeland

Anyhow---back to the visit with John's relatives from his mother's side of the family.  John's second cousin, Lynda recently spoke about her visit with her famous cousin

Getting through the crowd was really hard because the police had to take us through and girls were spitting and obviously there was anger that we were getting through and they couldn't. Then we were just sitting in their bedrooms and drinking and talking. And they all came in to see me as they came out of having had a shower," she said.

"He just kissed me and said 'hello, love' straight away. He spoke of seeing my sister and about how Aunt Mimi was getting on. Because Aunt Mimi at that stage had been here with my parents for a week nearly."

Fifty years later, Lynda Mathews finds the experience more surreal than she did then.

"Just holding onto the memories. It's been good to share with other relatives and remember those who aren't here with us as well. Just remember the really good times about it and that the music still goes on and on."

Autograph John signed for Lynda

John's cousin also got to meet the other Beatles!

I already wrote about Lynda's story for this blog, and you can find the story here 

John and Mimi with Mark, Susan and Helen Parker "The Dominion Post Collection, Alexander Turnbull Library".

John with his 2nd cousins Mark, Susan and Helen Parker "The Dominion Post Collection, Alexander Turnbull Library".

Mimi and John with Mr. F. Parker "The Dominion Post Collection, Alexander Turnbull Library".

 

Those Early days

This picture was posted on Facebook by John Lennon's cousin David on Bill Harry's Mersey Beat page. The photograph was  taken by Stanley Parkes in Edinburgh.  Here you see  John, Aunt Mater, Mater's husband Burt Sutherland,  Cousins Liela with Michael and David in front.

John's 2nd cousin

This is an interesting story written by John's 2nd cousin, who got to meet her famous relative for the first time when the Beatles visited New Zealand in 1964. Much thanks goes out to the Gilly who first posted this story on her tumblr.








Mimi, John and Jim

John with some more cousins

John and Lynda

Lynda Mathews, John Lennon’s second cousin, who was then a 17-year-old nurse at a private hospital in Masterton, recalls the Beatles’ visit:

The Beatles’ tour was an exciting time for my family, particularly my father, who has stayed in touch with John’s Aunt Mimi.

My grandmother, Harriet Millward, and John’s grandmother, Annie, were sisters. My father, Jim Mathews, was born in Liverpool and came out to New Zealand when he was a baby. My father and John’s Aunt Mimi corresponded with each other for many years and became very close. At the outset we knew that John was in a band, but we didn’t know much about them.

Several days before the Beatles actually touched down in New Zealand, Aunt Mimi arrived by plane in Wellington. My parents and other relatives met her off the plane and drove her up to Masterton, where they stopped for tea at a family friend’s home. It was there that I first met her, before we all travelled back to our farm in Pleckville, near Eketahuna. Mimi remained in New Zealand for several months, long after the Beatles had departed.

I was lucky enough to see two Beatle concerts in Wellington. I saw the first evening show and, after John had given me free tickets, part of the following afternoon session. Because I was John’s second cousin, the local newspaper was able to arrange a meeting with John and the other Beatles while they were in Wellington. Not surprisingly, many other fans had made the same claim - that they were related to the Beatles - but Derek Taylor, the Beatles’ publicity officer, identified the family likeness when he met me. As a consequence, I was able to meet John and the others face to face. I remember sitting on a bed in the Beatles’ hotel room, sipping whiskey and Coke, the Beatles’ favourite tipple at that time. Meanwhile, three Wellington high school girls managed to clamber up a drain pipe in an attempt to meet their idols. While they had to be content with autographs in the corridor, I felt very privileged to have made it into the inner sanctum. It was a funny feeling knowing that because I was related to John, I was doing what thousands of young Kiwi girls would have given and arm and a leg to be able to do.

While I was talking to John, the other Beatles walked in. Paul McCartney was amazed at the family resemblance. When it was time to go, John asked me to take care of Aunt Mimi. You could sense the strong bond and love that John felt for Mimi, the woman who raised him. In fact one of the main reasons the Beatles visited New Zealand was because John knew that his aunt had several relatives out here, and he wanted to give something back to her.

After Mimi returned to England she and my father continued to write to each other until dad died in 1980. My family still keep in touch with the Liverpool connection through John’s cousin, Stanley Parkes. The Beatle legacy has been taken up by the next generation too. In 1987, my daughter Amanda wrote John’s life story for a Queen’s Award, the ultimate award in Girls Brigade.

Sgt. Buddy's house

When the Beatles were in Miami during their first U.S. visit, the found themselves at the home of their "bodyguard," Sgt. Buddy Dresner. He took them there to have dinner with his wife and Beatle-fan children. Nothing gets on your kids good side than bringing home the Beatles! I am sure Buddy brought that one up on a regular basis. "Get that homework done, kids. Who brought the Beatles home to see you? Yeah....get it done!" While they were there, the lads ate a roast beef dinner (which John later sent the family a thank you note for) and Paul read the children a story. No word about any singing going on, although it wouldn't shock me if they had a piano.

Paul's family album

Here are some photos from Ruth McCartney (Paul's step-sister) personal files. I think seeing photos from the Beatles family albums is almost as cool as seeing photos taken by fans.