John Lennon’s 80th birthday: How John Lennon’s birth was announced in the ECHO

The first mentions of both John Lennon and his fellow Beatle Paul McCartney were in the classified columns of their local newspaper

Three small lines in the paper’s “births, marriages, and deaths” column on page three announced the birth in hospital on October 9 of a son to Julia (nee Stanley), wife of Alfred Lennon, of the merchant navy (then at sea).

Their address is given as 9 Newcastle Road, with the notice appearing on October 12, 1940.

As yet the baby had not been named “John”, so only his surname was given.

It was just over a year since the start of World War Two, and Liverpool was on high alert for German bombing raids, with the Battle of Britain still fresh in everyone’s minds.

Winston Churchill was already emerging as the figurehead of Britain’s struggle against the rampant forces of Nazi Germany, and this was the reason why John was given the middle name “Winston”.

But even in these few scant details, there are still some interesting facts about John Lennon that would become important in later life.

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