(Known as Alf. Later known as Freddie but never to Julia or her family).
Relationship: Father of John Lennon
14 December 1912(Liverpool) - 1 April 1976

Born into a family of five boys and a sister, John's father, Alfred, was only nine years old when his father Jack died. His mother Mary (Polly) was unable to support such a large family and Alf and his sister Edith were sent to the Bluecoat Orphanage, Liverpool. Although Alf got a good education he was very homesick and looked forward to coming home in the holidays.

Owing to rickets Alf needed leg-irons as a child. Consequently his growth was stunted and Alf's height of 5'4" was 4" short of what it should have been.

When he was 14 Alfred went with his elder brother, Stanley, to the Liverpool Empire Theatre, where he auditioned for a children's music hall act, 'Will Murray's Gang'. He passed the audition, ran away from the orphanage and joined the show. He travelled with the troupe to Glasgow before being traced and returned to the orphanage, where he was severely punished.

At 15 Alf left the orphanage and returned to the family home. One week later he met 14 year old Julia Stanley, his future wife, while taking a walk in Sefton Park.

With ideas of going on stage put behind him, Alf, in March 1930, took a job as bellboy on board the Cunard passenger liner SS Montrose. Meanwhile he kept in touch with Julia, writing to her and meeting her whenever he docked in Liverpool. On 3 December 1938, they married in secret at Mount Pleasant Registry Office. Alf's brother Sydney was a witness and bought everyone a pub lunch afterwards. The newly weds later moved into Julia's parent's house.

Now in the Merchant Navy Alf was at sea for long stretches of time. In 1940 Julia became pregnant. John Winston Lennon was born on 9 October 1940 but Alf didn't see his son until November when he returned from a voyage. Mostly at sea Alf didn't spend much time with Julia and John. In fact from 1 August 1940 until 13 January 1944 Alf spent only 3 months at home. During the time he was away he jumped ship and was AWOL. Julia only found out about this because she stopped getting her money and the Navy wrote to her to inform her they were looking for Alf.

It was during this time that Julia met 'Taffy' Williams, a Welsh soldier, and became pregnant. When Alf eventually came home, expecting a homecoming, he was given short shrift. Pop Stanley demanded that Julia give up her baby, and she reluctantly agreed. Victoria was adopted in 1945.

Julia's marriage had by now broken down and her relationship with Taffy was over and in time she met and fell in love with Bobby Dykins. They moved in together with young John. But Julia's sister Mimi and Pop were against the idea of all three of them living in such a small flat so John was put in the care of Mimi.

When Alfred returned once again from a voyage he took John to Blackpool for the summer. Alf wanted to explain to John that they could begin a new life in New Zealand or Australia.The plan was aborted when Julia, desperately looking for her son, collected him and returned to Liverpool.

In 1949 Alf's career at sea ended when he was sent to prison for six months. He had been drinking when, late at night, he spotted a mannequin in a wedding dress in a shop window. Alf broke the window, gathered the mannequin up in his arms and proceeded to dance in the street. With a criminal record any hope of gaining custody of his son vanished.

Alf did not see his son again until John was famous. Alf told his story to the papers who set up a meeting with John on the set of 'A Hard Day's Night'.

In 1965 an agent called Tony Cartwright persuaded Alf to make a record. They co-wrote 'That's My Life (My Love and My Home)', essentially an autobiographical tale of Alfred's life.

There was no love lost between the Stanley family and Alf Lennon. Mimi especially portrayed Alf as a man who had deserted his son. But in 1967 Charlie, Alfred's brother, wrote to John urging him to hear Alf's side of the story. This led to a rekindling of the relationship between John and his father.

But the relationship broke down irreparably in 1970 some months after Alf's new wife Pauline gave birth to John's half brother. David Henry was the first of two sons born to Pauline Jones, a woman 35 years Alf's junior who he had married despite her mother's objections. Their second son was called Robin Francis Lennon.

When Alf contracted terminal stomach cancer Pauline contacted Apple to make sure John knew his father was dying. John phoned Alf and sent a large bouquet of flowers to the hospital. When Alf died, John offered to pay for the funeral. Pauline refused, preferring to pay for the arrangements herself.