Time to tell the truth, says Lennon's cousin
Jun 5 2002


Exclusive By Alan Weston Daily Post Staff
 
A LONG-lost relative of John Lennon who emigrated to Canada at the height of the Beatles' fame has emerged after decades of obscurity.



And his daughter has told the Daily Post that perhaps now may be the time for a few of the stories about the Lennons to be put right.
Sidney Lennon, who will be 93 later this month, is now the only surviving uncle of the Beatles legend following the death of Charlie Lennon at the age of 83 last month.
Both Sidney and Charlie were brothers of John's father, Freddie Lennon.
After the separation of his parents, the young John Lennon even lived for a few months in the Maghull home of his aunt and uncle, Sidney and Madge Lennon, before going back to live with his own father.
The last time Sidney Lennon spoke to John was in 1967, shortly before he and his wife emigrated to Canada to live with their daughter, Joyce.

Speaking from her home in Ontario, Canada, last night, Joyce said her father now suffered from Parkinson's Disease .
But she revealed his famous family name still made him something of a celebrity on his hospital visits.
Joyce said: "The doctors, especially the young ones, ask him if he is really John Lennon's uncle and say 'can I touch you?'
"It's very cute and it doesn't become a nuisance.
"But we never traded on the family name, although, after I moved to Canada and the Beatles started to become more and more famous, I was a local heroine and had people phoning from all over the world to get a story.

"My dad is a very private man and didn't want to get involved with it."
Joyce, who was four years older than the infant John when he came to live with her parents, said she had fond memories of her cousin.
"He was a sweetheart, a nice little boy. He was very bright and my mum just idolised him. It broke her heart when he was taken away.
"The last contact they had was when John called and spoke to my father, just before he and my mother joined me in Canada."
Joyce said she had not yet told her father about the death of Charlie Lennon, who is being cremated today at Springwood Cemetery in Allerton.
Sidney had had no contact with his younger brother since moving to Canada.
"The person I would really like to link up with is Julian Lennon," said Joyce.
"There have been so many things said about John, his dad and his mum, that he's entitled to know the true family story.
"Maybe this is the time the stories were put right."
Charlie Lennon is credited with healing a long- standing rift between the ex-Beatle and his father.
He had often received invitations to spend weekends at John's home in Weybridge, Surrey, but returned to his native Liverpool at the age of 62 and lived in a modest flat in Sefton Park until his death.