Was Strawberry Field an orphanage?

Was Strawberry Field an orphanage?

Contrary to popular belief, Strawberry Field was not an orphanage, it was a children’s home run by The Salvation Army. While some of the children living at Strawberry Field may have been orphans, many of the children were temporarily living at the house because they couldn’t live with their own families. Strawberry Field was a safe haven for children to find refuge from their challenging home lives. Some children came to stay at the home just for a short time, while others stayed permenantly.

Did John Lennon live at Strawberry Field?

No, John didn’t live at Strawberry Field, but he did spend a lot of time there as he lived just around the corner. It’s likely that he identified with the children living at the Strawberry Field, as he too had a difficult home life. Throughout John’s earliest years, his father Alfred was often away with work and in 1994 he went ‘absent without leave’ for six months. When he eventually returned to the family home, John’s mother Julia was pregnant with another man’s child.  It was around this time that Julia’s sister, John’s Aunt Mimi, complained to social services and Julia gave up custody of John. From 1946, John lived at 251 Menlove Ave, also known as ‘Mendips’ with his Aunt Mimi and Uncle George.

Was John Lennon an orphan?

John Lennon was on the cusp of adulthood when his mother Julia died, so he could be described as an orphan, but the story is a little more complicated than that. From the age of 5, John lived with his Aunt Mimi and Uncle George. From this point, John was estranged from his father Alfred, but he regularly saw his mother, Julia. In fact, it was Julia who bought him his first guitar and taught him to play the banjo and accordion. Despite their unconventional living arrangements, much of John’s passion for music, creativity and sense of humour can be attributed to Julia. Sadly, just a few months before John turned 18, Julia lost her life after she was hit by a car. John and his father did later reconnect after Alfred turned up at Brian Epstein’s office in 1964.

You can learn more about the Strawberry Field children's home and John Lennon's childhood in our visitor exhibition.